Man City charges latest – Premier League verdict, Javier Tebas rant, Pep Guardiola response

Javier Tebas has taken aim at Manchester City, who await the verdict of their legal battle with the Premier League. In February 2023, the English top-flight charged its champions with 115 alleged breaches of financial regulations.

These include accusations that the club failed to provide accurate financial information and failed to cooperate with investigations spanning nine seasons (2009/10 to 2017/18). Man City denied any wrongdoing, so they looked to prove their innocence in front of an independent panel.

The case – that was heard in private at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London – concluded late last year. A three-man panel have been reviewing the evidence before they deliver a final verdict.

It’s said that if Man City are found guilty, they could be hit with a financial penalty or a point deduction. So, with that being said, football.london has rounded up everything you need to know about Man City’s battle with the Premier League and LaLiga.

LaLiga chief tears into Man City

Speaking at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit in London on Thursday, Javier Tebas revealed that LaLiga submitted a complaint about Man City to the European Commission in 2023. In a lengthy rant, the Spanish top-flight president said: “City were already expelled from European competition for two seasons but then they went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport – we call it a ‘court’ but it’s not really a court of justice.

“Manchester City were not condemned. UEFA was clear in the sanctions. In the case of the Premier League’s charges, I don’t know whether Manchester City will be deducted one point or 50 points or get relegated. All I know is the UEFA sanction was just, regardless of what CAS ruled.”

Man City vs UEFA battle explained

In July 2020, Man City were investigated by UEFA for potential Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) later overturned charges – regarding inflated sponsorship revenues between 2012 and 2016.

Along with the two-year ban from UEFA competitions, the fine was also reduced from €30m (£24.8m) to €10m (£8.3m). In an interview with The Telegraph in January 2024, Aleksander Ceferin maintained that UEFA were right to sanction Man City.

The UEFA president said: “We know we were right. We wouldn’t decide if we didn’t think we were right. As a trial lawyer for 25 years, I know that, sometimes, you win a case that you are sure you will lose. And, sometimes, you lose a case when you’re sure…

“You just simply have to respect in a serious democracy the decision of the court. I don’t want to speak about the case in England. But I trust that the decision of our independent body was correct. I didn’t enter into this decision.”

LaLiga chief’s Man City rant continued…

Speaking at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit in London on Thursday, Tebas added: “Related parties need to be kept at arms length. It’s the same in every other sector, so why not football? When City Football Group bought Girona, they sent five players on loan. We checked the valuations.

“We calculated they were 40 times higher than Manchester City claimed. We used our valuation, and that’s why there was no complaint or sanction. What worries me about Manchester City is something else. They have a group of companies outside of City Football Group.

“They saddle all their expenses to these companies. For example, they have scouting or marketing companies who accrue high expenses. They invoice Manchester City for low amounts. It allows Manchester City to have a structure that circumvents the rules. We have reported Manchester City to the EU.

“Even though they are an English team, and not part of the EU, they still have commercial activities in Europe. We first made the complaint in July 2023 and there are now regulations in place allowing the EU to look at companies like City Football Group.

“There are two aspects. The first is checking Manchester City are not using other companies to cheat the system. The second element is a bigger battle to stop football ending up in the hands of State-owned entities without proper policing. Our case against Manchester City relates to two things. We take issue with some of the prices the club have paid. And we question who the club can saddle losses on other related companies that are not directly part of City Football Group.

“You remember the case in the USA, the Enron case. They put losses into different companies. These are similar cases. It’s not just Manchester City, either. We have reported PSG to the EU. As for Newcastle, we haven’t done anything about them yet. We don’t have enough data.

“I can’t speak to any sanctions for Manchester City on this matter yet. All I can say is when a company in Europe, in general, is seen to have distorted the market, they often have to return funds. We want Manchester City to be sanctioned. The case is currently in the investigation phase. We haven’t had a reply yet. Remember, the EU have lots of cases.”

Guardiola snaps back

Speaking to reporters ahead of Man City’s clash against Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup, Guardiola responded to Tebas’ complaint. Upon hearing LaLiga president’s name, the former Barcelona boss said: “Next.”

He repeated “next” again as the question continued. When asked if he’s tired of being quizzed about the club’s finances, Guardiola added: “Next.”

Then, when asked why Man City have become a legal target for clubs and leagues, he said: “I don’t know. It happened in the past with UEFA, and now in a few weeks it happens in the Premier League, the sentence, right. We’ll wait, and after we’ll talk.”

Guardiola’s parting comment referenced the upcoming verdict in Man City’s battle with the Premier League.

Man City await final verdict

Speaking recently on the Tear Us Apart podcast, Kieran Maguire suggested Man City could be given a huge point deduction if they’re found guilty. The football finance expert said: “It has to be a points deduction – if found guilty. We are looking at a points deduction somewhere in the region of 60 to 100 points.

“The other thing that would happen is that the board of directors at Manchester City effectively would be proven to be liars and misrepresenting the state of the football club to the authorities.

“I don’t see how they can keep their jobs. Certainly we saw in the case of Juventus, who have done something similar [to what City are charged with] that the whole board of directors had to resign.”

Guardiola hints at final verdict date

In February this year, Guardiola suggested that a final verdict will be announced in March. The Man City boss told reporters: “In one month, I think there will be a verdict and a sentence. After that, we will see my opinion of what happened so far.”

Guardiola’s first words on the hearing

In August last year, Guardiola was delighted to hear that a hearing start date was finally agreed. Speaking to reporters ahead of Man City’s clash against Ipswich Town, he said: “I am happy it starts soon and hopefully it finishes soon for the benefit of all of us.

“Especially for the club but for all the other Premier League clubs, like for all the people that don’t wait for the sentence. I wish from deep in my heart to go to the trial, the independent panel – and I say it again, independent panel – and as soon as possible release what happened, and we will accept like always we have done.”

When asked if he was worried whether the situation could distract his players, Guardiola replied: “No, we have been three or four years talking about that.”