Manchester City are presently facing - and fighting - more than 100 charges of breaching the Premier League's financial regulations between 2009 and 2018. Many of their fans, though, believe the club to be victims of a conspiracy. Why? Because City's domestic dominance has put the Premier League in a very perilous position.
The English top-flight has expertly sold itself to consumers all across the planet as 'the best league in the world' because it is the most exciting and, far more importantly, the most competitive. It was unscripted drama, utterly unpredictable because of the level playing field. They built a billion-dollar brand on that illusion, but a fifth title in six seasons has exposed its fragile foundations.
Credit to Martin Tyler, the voice of Sky Sports' coverage for three decades, he, just like many influential figures in the English media, is still doing his best to maintain the illusion of interest. "One of the great appeals of the Premier League is that it's not a one-team league," he insisted, without a trace of irony, on the day that Arsenal inevitably succumbed to City's superiority.
As displays of delusion go, it was right up there with the Premier League concluding that there would be no state involvement in the running of Newcastle United, and Chelsea thinking that Frank Lampard would make for a sensible interim appointment...