MAN CITY FFP: CITIZENS TOLD GUARDIOLA WILL QUIT AND THEN CASE WILL BE HEARD AS SOUNESS MAKES ‘RUSH’ CLAIM

The 115 charges Man City are facing for alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules “won’t get dropped until” Pep Guardiola leaves, claims former West Ham striker Frank McAvennie.

The Citizens lifted their fourth consecutive Premier League title last Sunday with Guardiola’s side deserving of another title after a relentless finish to the season.

Man City were charged in February 2023 with more than 100 breaches of the competition’s financial fair play regulations dating back to 2009.

The club could face a points deduction or even expulsion from the competition if found guilty but Man City have vociferously denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fight their case.

Man City went on to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League Treble last season and are on course to win a Double this term if they can beat arch-rivals Man Utd in the FA Cup final later this month.

To many critics of the club, which is supported by the vast wealth of owner Sheikh Mansour, the Premier League charges cast a shadow over their success.

Guardiola is set to remain at least another season at Man City as his contract runs until 2025 and McAvennie reckons the “charges won’t get dropped until he leaves”.

McAvennie told Football Insider: “It’s all different, stupid things just mounting up. That’s the 115 charges.

“Pep has got one year left on his contract and these charges won’t get dropped until he leaves, that’s for sure.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they won another league and then it’ll be in court.

“The lawyers will just keep burying it, burying it, burying it until the laws change. It’s unfortunate for the wee clubs that couldn’t do that, but Man City can.

“There’s no point moaning about it, you’ve just got to get on with it and not let it get to you.”

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Liverpool legend Graeme Souness reckons that Man City have to be “serial winners of the Champions League ” to make them an iconic team.

Souness said: “I think as long as the owners are in control, City will be challenging and the team to beat, but the monopoly won’t last forever.

“That’s English football, though, it’s never been the case and I don’t believe it ever will. I would say it’s going to be another 10 years before City become a legacy club.

“You see people across the world wearing a Liverpool shirt or a Manchester United shirt, and I’m sure that’ll happen with City, but I think we’re a decade away from that.

“Just winning the Premier League doesn’t make them an iconic team, they’ve got to be serial winners of the Champions League.”

On their alleged 115 breaches of FFP, Souness added: “If I was to accuse someone of something and they were innocent and the whole world knew about it, they’d want to get me into court the following day. Why have City not been in a rush to squash the charges?

“I think that says everything about the situation they find themselves in. It’s alright to say that they’re ‘historical charges’ but that enabled them to make a big leap forward which wouldn’t have happened ordinarily.”

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2024-05-25T10:09:29Z dg43tfdfdgfd