Manchester City's financial case has taken a graver turn. Sources say the club has been found guilty of breaching almost all of the financial charges brought against it, and Stefan Borson, City's former financial adviser, has warned the punishment could reach the "nuclear option" of relegation from the Premier League.
The Premier League accused City of wide-ranging financial breaches across a period of sustained success on the pitch. An independent commission then examined the case, wrapping up its hearings in 2024.
Premier League clubs have been told the commission has already reached its verdict, according to the Daily Mail, with an official release still to come. The belief is that the outcome favours the competition.
Word doing the rounds suggests City were found guilty of all but one of the 115 charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations.
City's former adviser: everything has become possible
Borson, who advised Manchester City on financial matters between 2002 and 2007, was asked on TalkSPORT whether relegation from the Premier League was on the table once the decision lands.
He replied: "Everything is possible, and all hell will break loose now, because this matter will continue for weeks and weeks and weeks."
As quoted by the "Daily Mail", he added: "It will be very difficult for City to say anything or to control the fallout from this scenario, and this is without us even knowing yet what the decision contains."
He continued: "It is almost certain that we will soon see the independent commission's decision in detail, and this will give people an enormous amount of ammunition to attack these people and the club."
He explained: "After that we will enter the process of determining the punishment, which will take place behind closed doors."
Part of the gravity, Borson said, lies in City's refusal to give an inch throughout the case. "Manchester City has denied everything all along, and went through a process that has perhaps cost both parties more than £100 million, and in the end it was proven to have breached everything."
He signed off with a blunt verdict: "They are in very, very serious trouble."
An appeal is expected, but its chances of success are slim
City have denied any wrongdoing since the charges were first brought in February 2023, and an appeal against the decision looks all but certain.
Borson, though, rates the odds of overturning the ruling as vanishingly small. "An appeal on the basis of the facts is very unlikely to succeed," he said.
He added: "Since City has now been found guilty of almost everything, the decision itself will be very harsh with regard to the club's conduct, the conduct of individuals, their actions, as well as the credibility of their positions during the hearings. There will be nowhere to hide when the decision is published."
He continued: "And when these findings then have to be put before an appeal body that does not benefit from re-hearing the case in full, whether in terms of witness testimonies or reviewing all the documents again, it will be extremely difficult for City to overturn these factual findings."
Will City challenge the commission's impartiality?
To the former adviser, City's latest statement hinted at how the club might try to fight the decision.
He said: "I think City hinted in the final paragraph of its statement that the process and the commission itself may have been biased in one way or another, and that it might also challenge the long time it took for the decision to be issued."
He added: "All these arguments, whether they relate to bias or any procedural matter, are very unlikely to succeed. As for overturning the findings relating to the facts, I see that as extremely unlikely."
Borson wrapped up his analysis with a warning: "In the end, I think City will now have to bear its punishment, and it will be harsh."