Man City banned from the Champions League for two years for committing "serious breaches" of FFP up to 2016. Also breached rules by failing to co-operate with investigation. Extraordinary stuff.
Be interesting to see how this affects Pep Guardiola's future given that he repeatedly said his City bosses insisted they had done nothing wrong. Does he continue to work for people it now appears lied to him? Or does he suck it up and carry on?
Man City made a (small) profit of £10m in 2018-19 on revenue of £535m. But more than £100m of that was CL related (prize money, home games, sponsor ship). No CL football and City quite possibly become heavily loss-making.
Man City will appeal decision at CAS, where it will be either upheld in full / upheld partially (eg 1yr ban instead of 2) or overturned. Crucially a CAS document after appeal will lay bare, in huge detail, exactly how City allegedly cheated, and were evasive.
When we spoke to new PL CEO Richard Masters last week, his stance on a PL investigation into Man City was that there was a PL investigation ongoing, but as such it was confidential and thus no more info is available until concluded.
If UEFA's two-year ban on City is upheld by CAS, they will be banned from Europe (Europa as well as CL) for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, as well as being fined €30m. UEFA just confirmed to me if City miss next season, 5th placed PL team go into CL.
Ramifications for Man City if two-year ban is upheld are substantial, including not only will some players want to leave to play top-level European football elsewhere. With no CL revenue, they become loss-making and players wanting out.
And what must Silver Lake be thinking, after the US investment firm paid $500m late last year for 10% of City Football Group - where Man City is the main asset. City presumably assured then there would be no CL ban. Boom time for lawyers.
It's emails such as this, from City's then CFO Graham Wallace, that landed City in trouble - revealing how City and various UAE firms needed to present their dealings to regulators (by in effect misrepresenting where money came from) to cover up FFP breaches. 
City always had a choice - having signed up to the FFP rules, like all the clubs in Europe - NOT to break them. Just spend a bit less, take longer to catch up. But Mansour & Khaldoon's mindset is: "We're rich. We do what we want."
Plutocracy lost today.
Plutocracy lost today.
A few people asking whether the UEFA ruling on MCFC will apply to their women's team. Answer: no. Spending on stadium, training facilities, youth, development and women's teams not counted for FFP purposes. Women's team thus in the clear.
Perhaps the most heartening thing tonight is to see so many Man City fans on Twitter taking an approach that is effectively summed up as: "Fair enough. A long, rigorous & fair process has found us guilty. Let's take it on the chin and win on merit in future."
As for what happens at CAS in the appeal process. This is by a margin *THE* most significant disciplinary decision ever made by UEFA's Adjudicatory Chamber, given City's resources and what's at stake. You'd assume they believe the ground is solid ... (TBC)
... but a two-year ban almost invites compromise if City mount a credible defence and provide evidence to CAS that they didn't to UEFA that mitigates events. So a one-year ban after appeal? Remains to be seen.
Obviously the ramifications of an upheld ban for Man City go wider still. If Sheff Utd thought they were having a great season so far, then what about now? cc: @Saudi49er
Fascinating change of perspective tonight on the BlueMoon forum after UEFA ruling. Typically it's rabid pro-Mansour / UAE, but quite a few posts like these, fans now asking have the owners let them down over this & lied / cheated?
One key to a successful outcome of UAE's sportswashing ownership of MCFC (that being an objective now confirmed by Garry Cook) was bringing along a fanbase, and latterly weaponising it against critics. If fans realise owners have *hurt* the club...
City's hierarchy have successfully propagated and sustained a myth that FFP was an evil cartel's plan to nobble them. The independent body who built FFP from 2009 included the massively respected 'father' of the Supporters Trust movement, Brian Lomax!
When people who didn't follow FFP in the first place and still don't have the most basic grasp of what it does continue to spout guff about a corrupt elite ... you have to wonder why.
Just one tiny example in this @IanHerbs piece of how City have obfuscated, misled and then attempted to bully. The "Fordham case" (one part of the book-cooking that led to 2014 punishment) in detail.
dailymail.co.uk/sport/football…
dailymail.co.uk/sport/football…
