Why stripping Man City of titles & taking away medals is ‘pointless’ as Danny Mills discusses ‘irrelevant’ punishment in 115-charge FFP soap opera

Those at the Etihad Stadium stand accused of conducting “sham” business between 2010 and 2018. All but one of the charges brought against them have been upheld by an independent commission, with a final ruling due to be made by late January 2027.

Various sanctions are being speculated on, with it suggested by some that City could be removed from the top tier of English football - either by a vote that sees them expelled or by hefty points deductions.

Transfer embargoes and huge fines have also been mooted, while some would like to see every trophy win across an era of domestic dominance wiped from the record books. City got their silverware-winning ball rolling in 2011 when lifting the FA Cup.

Since then they have won eight Premier League titles, the Champions League, three more FA Cups, seven League Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. Much of that success, including a historic Treble in 2022-23, was enjoyed under Catalan coach Pep Guardiola.

City remain determined to clear their name, having pleaded innocence throughout a protracted sporting soap opera, but could there be more drama to come as no investigation has been carried out into events of the last eight years?

Asked about that, and the sanctions which could be imposed, former City defender Mills - who was speaking courtesy of Gambling.com, the guide to the best online casinos - told GOAL: “This is then the problem. You assume after that [2018], financially they were OK. But that was only brought about because they had a much bigger base to start with.

“Where do you draw the line of how this benefited you post-2018, 2019, as opposed to before it? Because if you didn't have this base, you wouldn't have been able to attract these players. You wouldn't have been able to do this with your stadium. You wouldn't have had to do X, Y, Z. It's even more complicated.

“There is no perfect solution in all this. I think a line has to be drawn and say, ‘right, OK, up to this point, these rules were broken, therefore, this is the sanction that's going to be put in place because we can't do it retrospectively because it's pointless’.

“You can take titles away, irrelevant. You can take medals and trophies away from players, irrelevant. They've had those moments, they've had those days out, they've had those bonuses. You've had all the upside of that for a number of years.

“If you want to come and take my Carling Cup medal away [won with Middlesbrough in 2004], come and take it. I still won the Carling Cup. You can buy my medal off me. You didn't win it, I did. So as a player, it's kind of irrelevant if you want to take those titles away. It doesn't make any difference.

“If it was this season or last season, it's slightly different, but you're looking at almost 10 years ago. It doesn't matter, in effect. It would be like going back now and saying, ‘well, 1966, the ball didn't cross the line, therefore, England didn't win the World Cup’. Sadly, it's only, I think, Sir Geoff Hurst that's still alive now. 50-odd years, it's kind of irrelevant.

“So retrospective punishments are incredibly difficult. It's how you sanction and sentence the club going forward. And again, that's going to be incredibly complicated.”

City are yet to be made aware of their fate, having taken issue with the charges levelled against them so far. Long-running legal proceedings will rumble on for some time yet, with arguments being offered as to why no serious sanctions should be imposed.

For now, Enzo Maresca and his squad are focused on the pursuit of precious points and more trophy tilts at home and abroad, with the Blues set to return to action on Sunday when taking in a trip to old adversaries Liverpool.