Man City sent brutal 'cheating' message as club wait on verdict of 115 FFP charges after being knocked out of Champions League by Real Madrid

Pep Guardiola's team suffered a heartbreaking loss to Real Madrid on penalties in the quarter-finals, ending their hopes of securing a historic double treble. However, City's recent successes have come under the spotlight as they have been hit with a staggering 115 alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play regulations, spanning from 2009 to 2018. Although City have vehemently denied the allegations, their rivals and critics do not pass up opportunitites to bring up the sensitive issue.

Former Premier League player Stan Collymore has joined the opposition bandwagon with his latest dig at City following their Champions League exit. On social media, Collymore juxtaposed images of European Cup-winning moments from clubs like Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, and Celtic and along with the pictures he put out a scathing caption essentially questioning City's integrity.

The boyhood Aston Villa fan wrote: "Don't forget kids, you're only a big club when you've won the European Cup, and you're only a really big club when you've done it without cheating. Innit fam. Brrraaap braaap."

Collymore had earlier called for accountability and meaningful consequences if City are found guilty of breaching FFP regulations. He argued that stripping titles would serve as a deterrent and ensure that clubs abide by financial regulations, emphasizing the importance of upholding the integrity of the sport.

Speaking to Caught Offside, he said: "The sad thing is, if found guilty after the investigation has concluded, it’s very likely the Citizens will face no real consequences. If the regulatory bodies want to take a real stand, they should start stripping titles because if they were to do that, any club, not just Man City, who are found guilty of breaking FFP rules, would have done so for absolutely nothing. And there is nothing more embarrassing in sport than having your awards deemed null and void."

After seeing their treble hopes dashed, City will hope to seal an FA Cup final berth by beating Chelsea on Saturday at Wembley Stadium.