City and Financial Doping | Charged by PL with numerous FFP breaches | Hearing begins 16th September 2024

Manchester City didn't purchase the club, wtf are you on about?
City Football Group purchased 44% of the club... Pere Guardiola purchased another 44%.
City Football Group also owns Man City, right? You really think this small technicality means there is no wrongdoing? They may as well rebrand every club they own to UAE FC because that is what they are.

You really believe it is purely by chance that both entities invested into buying the club at the same time Pep manages City?
 
The more you think about it, the only actual punishment they can do is strip them of the titles, isn't it? Relegation maybe yes maybe no, points deduction maybe, but you would 100% have to strip them of the titles won "if they cheated the years they won the title". Obviously they did. But if they are able to prove it, how the feck could they not strip them of those titles?
 
In an arbitration case, as one of the parties you are entitled to nominate an independent arbiter. That's how it works.

That's a completely different process to the appointment of an independent commission, of which City will have zero influence over its composition.

You’re part right, but key word in the first paragraph is ‘independent’.
 
Apparently Yaya Toure and his agent have been key witnesses for the PL regarding dodgy payments etc

what a circus
REALLY should have bought him that birthday cake.
 
We need more information on this independent panel as they are key to the outcome of the PL investigation. Who are they, who will appoint them? Will they have any affiliations to Abu Dhabi?
 
City Football Group also owns Man City, right? You really think this small technicality means there is no wrongdoing? They may as well rebrand every club they own to UAE FC because that is what they are.

You really believe it is purely by chance that both entities invested into buying the club at the same time Pep manages City?

Hardly, but what illegal about it. CFG didn't buy Girona. They bought 44%, Pere Guardiola bought a different 44%, its no different to our shares in Yokohama, Siuchan or Palermo. CFG go around hoovering up feeder clubs. Its not against the rules. Doing so with someone you know or have worked with is nothing new.

Soriano has a relationship with Pere for years given Pere is one of the biggest agents at one of the biggest agencies in world football (he's one of the agents who brought EtH to United). Theres literally nothing to suggest City wouldn't have jumped at this opportunity with anyone else?

In the same time frame City purchased a percentage of Bahia, Palermo, Yokohama, Siuchan, Mumbai and outright bought NYCFC, Melbourne City, Montevideo, Troyes and Lommel. Girona was nothing other than another feeder club picked up for 1/10th the cost of Mahrez. Was Pep's brother involved in them all?
 
The more you think about it, the only actual punishment they can do is strip them of the titles, isn't it? Relegation maybe yes maybe no, points deduction maybe, but you would 100% have to strip them of the titles won "if they cheated the years they won the title". Obviously they did. But if they are able to prove it, how the feck could they not strip them of those titles?
Expulsion from the league for systemic cheating going on for over a decade isn’t just possible , it’s probable.
 
I thought that was related to our number of loanees not money.

And probably also conveniently chaired by Arsenal members maybe?

What bothers me about all of this pseudo indignation is the fact that we aren’t talking about City outspending United and other teams.

United fans and others are Indignant they were allowed to spend essentially the same amount as them.

Gross spend over the last decade (not net, so sponsors, etc not an issue) … United 1.3 billion, City 1.4 billion.

So in essence the argument is: you can’t spend as much as us to have success and earn fans because you don’t already have the same number of fans….

None of it really seems open market and competitively fair.

And it seems more like an attempt to mollify and artificially manipulate things for Madrid, Barca, and La Liga after the Superleague trials went against them more than anything else.

The Premiere league teams can match spending and, frankly, play on the field. This is an attack on the Premiere League, driven by historic leagues and teams that understand they are falling irreparably behind, and the parties involved need to understand that.

Mostly, because artificial means for “punishing” investment simply don’t work in the long run. They need to worry about why people don’t want to invest there. Maybe they used fake fronts to send in money, but they could have done the same thing to buy and dominate with Real Betis ir someone like that …. and chose not to do so. It’s still investment. People want to invest in the PL, and NOT in other leagues… and UEFA is trying to artificially stop that from happening.
You miss the point.

They signed up to the rules. Then cheated, lied, didn't cooperate with investigations. Think of all the other teams who would've finished top 4 / top 5 if City hadn't broken the rules. It impacts every club long term.

Any club can grow success, increase fanbase and spending power. But over time and through good development of youth players and sound investments over decades, not over a few fecking years blowing the transfer market wide open.

Also many of the allegations are on City wages/fees not being on the books so you are not comparing true figures. That's also the point.
 
I thought that was related to our number of loanees not money.

And probably also conveniently chaired by Arsenal members maybe?

What bothers me about all of this pseudo indignation is the fact that we aren’t talking about City outspending United and other teams.

United fans and others are Indignant they were allowed to spend essentially the same amount as them.

Gross spend over the last decade (not net, so sponsors, etc not an issue) … United 1.3 billion, City 1.4 billion.

So in essence the argument is: you can’t spend as much as us to have success and earn fans because you don’t already have the same number of fans….

None of it really seems open market and competitively fair.

And it seems more like an attempt to mollify and artificially manipulate things for Madrid, Barca, and La Liga after the Superleague trials went against them more than anything else.

The Premiere league teams can match spending and, frankly, play on the field. This is an attack on the Premiere League, driven by historic leagues and teams that understand they are falling irreparably behind, and the parties involved need to understand that.

Mostly, because artificial means for “punishing” investment simply don’t work in the long run. They need to worry about why people don’t want to invest there. Maybe they used fake fronts to send in money, but they could have done the same thing to buy and dominate with Real Betis ir someone like that …. and chose not to do so. It’s still investment. People want to invest in the PL, and NOT in other leagues… and UEFA is trying to artificially stop that from happening.
One step away from "this is a European attack on The Crown"
 
Need to investigate those who wrote thing like "money or Pep" in the press too. Definitely got paid. What else for such stupidity?
 
When Pep finally gets a chance to question Yaya Toure

 
And mostly nothing will come out of it

Pure circus.

PL need City to be a super league, one less rich team fighting for the league makes the league least interesting.

PL was the biggest league in the world pre-City and will be still post-City (if City as we currently are get the boot)
 
What bothers me about all of this pseudo indignation is the fact that we aren’t talking about City outspending United and other teams.

United fans and others are Indignant they were allowed to spend essentially the same amount as them.

Gross spend over the last decade (not net, so sponsors, etc not an issue) … United 1.3 billion, City 1.4 billion.

So in essence the argument is: you can’t spend as much as us to have success and earn fans because you don’t already have the same number of fans….

None of it really seems open market and competitively fair.

You’ve got it backwards. The reason transfer outlay has ballooned is because clubs who are expected to balance their books are being forced to compete with teams who theoretically can’t go bankrupt, and as such you’ve got teams who’ve earned their money over decades like Barca actively destroying themselves to beat out the likes of City & PSG, and even financial titans like United bargain shopping for Burnley strikers because they’ve had to spend so much to catch up…. The reason United have spent as much as City IS a product of their financial doping. Not the other way around.

Not to mention that if a lot of these allegations are true, City have been paying people off the books, and therefore spending a lot more than is on the official record… that’s kinda the whole point!

Also, it’s sport, not ‘the open market’ …A department store might not get accused of financial doping when a billionaire ploughs loads of money into it, but a sports club in a league with a notion of fair sporting competition might.
 
Stripped of titles is what should happen, really, but it's fantasy. These dickheads will do nothing. This entire procedure will prove what a scum league the PL really is.

Teams like us, and yes, even the scouse cnuts were robbed off hard fought premiership titles due to a cheating scum club.

Actually, if they let them get away without any SEVERE punishment the PL might be the scummiest league in the world no exaggeration..

PL already allowed nations to buy clubs in their league.

There is no coming back from that
 
You’ve got it backwards. The reason transfer outlay has ballooned is because clubs who are expected to balance their books are being forced to compete with teams who theoretically can’t go bankrupt, and as such you’ve got teams who’ve earned their money over decades like Barca actively destroying themselves to beat out the likes of City & PSG, and even financial titans like United bargain shopping for Burnley strikers because they’ve had to spend so much to catch up…. The reason United have spent as much as City IS a product of their financial doping. Not the other way around.

Not to mention that if a lot of these allegations are true, City have been paying people off the books, and therefore spending a lot more than is on the official record..

Also, it’s sport, not ‘the open market’ …A department store doesnt get accused of financial doping when a billionaire ploughs loads of money into it, but a sports club in a league with a notion of fair sporting competition might.

Barca had competition for Coutinho, Dembele, Griezmann? City didn't break £100m till Grealish. Barca spent that years previously.

We can be found guilty of cheating or whatever and should take full responsibility but we're in no way responsible for the level of idiocy that went on at Camp Nou.
Barcelona had 3 x £100m+ players when Cities transfer record was still £65m. In fact 2 players who cost nearly double Cities most expensive signing.

We might be going down for alot of shit we deserve but we most certainly aren't responsible for the state of Barca or United, spunking huge money on the likes of Maguire, Pogba and Coutinho. Harry Maguire for £80m is a bigger crime than the hundred+ we've committed combined.
 
You’ve got it backwards. The reason transfer outlay has ballooned is because clubs who are expected to balance their books are being forced to compete with teams who theoretically can’t go bankrupt, and as such you’ve got teams who’ve earned their money over decades like Barca actively destroying themselves to beat out the likes of City & PSG, and even financial titans like United bargain shopping for Burnley strikers because they’ve had to spend so much to catch up…. The reason United have spent as much as City IS a product of their financial doping. Not the other way around.

Not to mention that if a lot of these allegations are true, City have been paying people off the books, and therefore spending a lot more than is on the official record… that’s kinda the whole point!

Also, it’s sport, not ‘the open market’ …A department store might not get accused of financial doping when a billionaire ploughs loads of money into it, but a sports club in a league with a notion of fair sporting competition might.
Top post.
 
It’s quite sad what’s happened to football. All seemed inevitable when the Premier League exploded in popularity, and as obscene money became the norm, something like this was only a matter of time.

If the charges stick, it will be a devastating indictment of the way football in the UK has been handled. Wider questions of the Premier League and governing bodies also need to be raised.

Is there a punishment that will do justice to matchgoing supporters? How much have individuals spent on season tickets for the best part of a decade, only to now find they were potentially watching a rigged tournament where certain team(s) simply weren’t playing fair?

Same goes for the athletes, who worked so hard to get to the pinnacle of the sport, only to now find the bulk of their careers could be nil and void.

Corruption in football has always been a talking point, particularly when World Cups come around, but the realisation of it unfolding in front of our eyes right on our door step really brings it home.
 
Barca had competition for Coutinho, Dembele, Griezmann? City didn't break £100m till Grealish. Barca spent that years previously.

We can be found guilty of cheating or whatever and should take full responsibility but we're in no way responsible for the level of idiocy that went on at Camp Nou.
Barcelona had 3 x £100m+ players when Cities transfer record was still £65m. In fact 2 players who cost nearly double Cities most expensive signing.

We might be going down for alot of shit we deserve but we most certainly aren't responsible for the state of Barca or United, spunking huge money on the likes of Maguire, Pogba and Coutinho. Harry Maguire for £80m is a bigger crime than the hundred+ we've committed combined.

You still miss the point it seems
 
It’s quite sad what’s happened to football. All seemed inevitable when the Premier League exploded in popularity, and as obscene money became the norm, something like this was only a matter of time.

If the charges stick, it will be a devastating indictment of the way football in the UK has been handled. Wider questions of the Premier League and governing bodies also need to be raised.

Is there a punishment that will do justice to matchgoing supporters? How much have individuals spent on season tickets for the best part of a decade, only to now find they were potentially watching a rigged tournament where certain team(s) simply weren’t playing fair?

Same goes for the athletes, who worked so hard to get to the pinnacle of the sport, only to now find the bulk of their careers could be nil and void.

Corruption in football has always been a talking point, particularly when World Cups come around, but the realisation of it unfolding in front of our eyes right on our door step really brings it home.
Serie A were top dogs and never really recovered after calciopoli. The charges are in a slightly different category, but I think you are right that this will have lasting effects on football in the UK. If cheating is proven in court, the scrutiny on the rest of the league will be huge
 
Barca had competition for Coutinho, Dembele, Griezmann? City didn't break £100m till Grealish. Barca spent that years previously.

We can be found guilty of cheating or whatever and should take full responsibility but we're in no way responsible for the level of idiocy that went on at Camp Nou.
Barcelona had 3 x £100m+ players when Cities transfer record was still £65m. In fact 2 players who cost nearly double Cities most expensive signing.

We might be going down for alot of shit we deserve but we most certainly aren't responsible for the state of Barca or United, spunking huge money on the likes of Maguire, Pogba and Coutinho. Harry Maguire for £80m is a bigger crime than the hundred+ we've committed combined.
I mean, your not responsible for the dumb decisions we've made but our mistakes being so expensive is at least partly down to you. I guess Chelsea are probably more guilty of inflating the market but then you're citing numbers that seem to be made up, so who knows?
 
You still miss the point it seems

No I don't. Barca could have bought players far less than they did, so could United etc... City have broken the rules and spent gratuitously but no one at City made United spunk a billion pound in that time period on poor players. The idea that Pogba going to United for £80m+ is anything to do with Cities spending is ridiculous.

Its like saying City buying Ederson for £35m is the reason Kepa cost £70m or Allison £75m.
 
Barca had competition for Coutinho, Dembele, Griezmann? City didn't break £100m till Grealish. Barca spent that years previously.

We can be found guilty of cheating or whatever and should take full responsibility but we're in no way responsible for the level of idiocy that went on at Camp Nou.
Barcelona had 3 x £100m+ players when Cities transfer record was still £65m. In fact 2 players who cost nearly double Cities most expensive signing.

We might be going down for alot of shit we deserve but we most certainly aren't responsible for the state of Barca or United, spunking huge money on the likes of Maguire, Pogba and Coutinho. Harry Maguire for £80m is a bigger crime than the hundred+ we've committed combined.
There's merit in both arguments. I think the incumbents definitely needed greater investment to keep up with the likes of City and PSG.

But I also think you're 100% correct. The failures of United are wholly on the club, and not on the financial doping of City. We've shown we can compete with anyone financially, and if we were run properly, should have a couple titles to show for the last decade, irrespective of City's alleged illegal actions.

Think Barca never recovered from losing Neymar to PSG, and have had an axe to grind since then with state ownership.

Madrid and Bayern have stayed at the top table and won CL's without threatening their financial future, as have Liverpool. State ownership have definitely contributed to the spiral in money spent, astronomical wages and agent fees, but so has mega TV deals, US PE interest etc...
 
I mean, your not responsible for the dumb decisions we've made but our mistakes being so expensive is at least partly down to you. I guess Chelsea are probably more guilty of inflating the market but then you're citing numbers that seem to be made up so who knows.

Those are based on official figures, your dumb decisions being so expensive is down to you. Not Chelsea not anyone. The only club who were willing to pay £80m for Harry was United (even City balked at the fee), the only club willing to spend £110m on Dembele was Barca. Thats not a City problem. Those players would have went for reasonable money if you didn't stump up.

Is it Cities fault for example, KDB, Bernardo and Gundogan cost about the same as Pogba and Van De Beek?

City are guilty of much but footballs stupid inflation is not one of them, same with Chelsea, the big spending has been pretty consistent in relation to tv money since the 90's according to that Tomkins guy who came up with the tpi model.
 
You’ve got it backwards. The reason transfer outlay has ballooned is because clubs who are expected to balance their books are being forced to compete with teams who theoretically can’t go bankrupt, and as such you’ve got teams who’ve earned their money over decades like Barca actively destroying themselves to beat out the likes of City & PSG, and even financial titans like United bargain shopping for Burnley strikers because they’ve had to spend so much to catch up…. The reason United have spent as much as City IS a product of their financial doping. Not the other way around.

Not to mention that if a lot of these allegations are true, City have been paying people off the books, and therefore spending a lot more than is on the official record… that’s kinda the whole point!

Also, it’s sport, not ‘the open market’ …A department store might not get accused of financial doping when a billionaire ploughs loads of money into it, but a sports club in a league with a notion of fair sporting competition might.
Incredible post.
 
There's merit in both arguments. I think the incumbents definitely needed greater investment to keep up with the likes of City and PSG.

But I also think you're 100% correct. The failures of United are wholly on the club, and not on the financial doping of City. We've shown we can compete with anyone financially, and if we were run properly, should have a couple titles to show for the last decade, irrespective of City's alleged illegal actions.

Think Barca never recovered from losing Neymar to PSG, and have had an axe to grind since then with state ownership.

Madrid and Bayern have stayed at the top table and won CL's without threatening their financial future, as have Liverpool. State ownership have definitely contributed to the spiral in money spent, astronomical wages and agent fees, but so has mega TV deals, US PE interest etc...

I'd agree with that but I do think spending correlates more with tv income than City, PSG or whomever.
I do think City stockpiling for example 50m fullbacks that cost 50m each is a problem but not on risihng fees, more on clubs needing big squads.

Of course if City are done for paying off the books, this changes drastically.
 
It’s quite sad what’s happened to football. All seemed inevitable when the Premier League exploded in popularity, and as obscene money became the norm, something like this was only a matter of time.

If the charges stick, it will be a devastating indictment of the way football in the UK has been handled. Wider questions of the Premier League and governing bodies also need to be raised.

Is there a punishment that will do justice to matchgoing supporters? How much have individuals spent on season tickets for the best part of a decade, only to now find they were potentially watching a rigged tournament where certain team(s) simply weren’t playing fair?

Same goes for the athletes, who worked so hard to get to the pinnacle of the sport, only to now find the bulk of their careers could be nil and void.

Corruption in football has always been a talking point, particularly when World Cups come around, but the realisation of it unfolding in front of our eyes right on our door step really brings it home.

Very good points you make.
Hard to see any upside.
 
What is this?

People are not happy they broke the rules that are set for everyone to obtain a clear advantage over the past 12-15 years.

Not sure what you’re unclear about here.

FFP regulations were intended to prevent “overzealous directors from themselves” and borrowing to a dangerous degree that put creditors and the club themselves in jeopardy.

They specifically denied at the time it was an artificial cap intended to prevent what some called “financial doping”. There were then several prominent lawsuits out, which UEFA saw themselves as losing. That was the reason given for the “easing” of FFP in 2015.

The rule was never intended to prevent someone from using actual money (not debt) to compete with already wealthy teams like United, Liverpool, and Madrid.

Or at least that’s what they said. The obvious inference many took was that that was EXACTLY what FFP was for: to protect the status quo.

People are acting like all the leagues and all the owners agreed to this equally. They didn’t; hence the lawsuits. It was only after certain assurances were given that they were dropped. Some of those assurances have seemed under threat for awhile now.

I will agree that the sloppy ways in which they breached FFP has earned them what they get.

But they should have just challenged FFP openly.

The real problem with it is it places limits on how teams can acquire legitimate money.

And the “types” of income are VERY slanted towards pre existing powers.

And no, money is not illegitimate if it comes from selling oil. It’s legitimate if it’s theirs, not borrowed, and they want to spend it on a football team.

Either an across the board hard cap, no cap, or, like some other leagues, a financial luxury tax distributed to teams without as much money if your spending crosses a certain threshold.

I am simply saying the narrative that City wildly outspent United is … wrong. And saying a team can’t invest money into a squad to reach your level just because they dont have the established fanbase and scope is anti free competition in business.

If City were an American owned team, where we have treaties with both Europe and the UK regarding this practice… there would be issues I feel certain.

City’s big sin was lying and committing fraud. They SHOULD face issues for that.

But my point is they should have challenged it and should t have had to make that choice. They were stupid to try and be “clever”.

But FFP as a restrictor if legitimate investment is not sustainable.
 
No I don't. Barca could have bought players far less than they did, so could United etc... City have broken the rules and spent gratuitously but no one at City made United spunk a billion pound in that time period on poor players. The idea that Pogba going to United for £80m+ is anything to do with Cities spending is ridiculous.

Its like saying City buying Ederson for £35m is the reason Kepa cost £70m or Allison £75m.

So the huge undeclared salaries and payments didn’t do anything to inflate the market no?