Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has suggested that Manchester City could be facing a points deduction of between 40 and 60 points if they are found guilty of multiple rule breaches in their 115-charge Financial Fair Play case.
The Premier League club is alleged to have committed 115 breaches of financial regulations between 2009 and 2018, allegations the club have always denied.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Overlap, Maguire claimed City’s punishment could be far more severe than those handed to Nottingham Forest and Everton in 2024.
“The Premier League cannot relegate Manchester City to League One or League Two because that is an EFL decision and Manchester City have not had any charges proven against them by the EFL,” Maguire said. “Therefore, it has to be a points deduction.
“If we take a look at precedence, we have had Everton and Nottingham Forest with six and four-point deductions for a single offence covering a three-year period. The accusations against Manchester City cover a nine-year period, so it is far bigger.
“The numbers involved we are not certain about but they are likely to be quite significant. I think you have to add a zero to what we’ve seen in terms of Forest and Everton, so somewhere between a 40 and 60-point deduction would be, on merit to be consistent with what we’ve seen with other decisions, would make a lot of logic.
“If they want to go further then we don’t know the severity. In the case of both Forest and Everton, they were to do with FFP purely. The accusations against Manchester City have already been hinted at, which is why it is taking so long.
“Corporate fraud is a very serious accusation. The board of directors would have to go. How can you be in a meeting room with other members of the Premier League, with the Premier League itself – of whom you are a shareholder – with this accusation being proven?
“If you take a look at what happened with Juventus in Serie A, the board had to resign when they were claiming things about player wages which were proven to be untrue.
“There is an honesty issue here that would mean if Manchester City are found guilty – City are massively confident, as are the Premier League – then the board has to go and that could be a complete restructure of the club.”
