Man City given three reasons why relegation punishment would be a ‘major surprise’ in FFP case as club legend predicts fine or transfer ban if champions are found guilty

Talk of the reigning champions being demoted out of the top tier continues to rage as a verdict in the Blues’ long-running Financial Fair Play saga is waited on. There are at least 115 charges hanging over the Etihad Stadium at present, meaning that various punishments are being mooted.

Ex-City skipper Richard Dunne is not convinced that Pep Guardiola will be working in the EFL next season, telling GOAL when speaking in association with William Hill Vegas: “I wouldn’t have thought so. Setting aside whether they are found guilty or not – if they were to be found guilty, the damage it would do to the Premier League, in terms of demoting Man City, would be too much. It all comes down to what the result is.

“But City are a superpower in the Premier League and a team that the Premier League needs and a team that the opposition wants in the league and to play against. It would be a major surprise if something like that was to happen to them.”

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Pressed further on whether a big points deduction could be in the pipeline for City, which would place their Champions League qualification hopes under serious threat, Dunne added: “Yeah. What has gone previously has been fines and points deductions – for the clubs that have been found guilty of any breaches. It’s been that level of sanction.

“I would imagine that if City are found guilty, it will be something along the lines of a fine or whatever. I don’t think it’s going to be a demotion. Maybe a transfer ban or something like that. It’s all speculation because the whole process has been too long and very secretive. Nobody really knows what anybody else is thinking.”

City have always maintained their innocence and spent big again in the winter transfer window of 2025. Asked if that business can be considered an indicator of confidence that the harshest of punishments will be avoided, Dunne said: “Also, it was recognition that they have fallen behind in the first-half of the season. I think they had plans for the future, to have a big summer in the upcoming window. They have just decided to bring that forward.

“I don’t see them bringing that forward as a sign of them being worried or concerned about any future punishments, it’s just about where they are as a team at the moment. They had to improve and they had to improve quickly. I think that’s why they made the decision to get the players in now, rather than wait.”

Uncharacteristic struggles from City this season have seen them tumble out of the Champions League and another Premier League title race. They do, however, still sit fourth in the table and are safely through to the FA Cup quarter-finals.