Man City could ‘benefit’ financially from Champions League ban

Man City could benefit from their Champions League ban, according to a football finance expert.

UEFA have banned City from competing in the competition for the next two seasons after finding them guilty of breaching Financial Fair Play regulations.

City are set to appeal the ban, which if upheld would see the club miss out on millions of pounds and threaten their standing as one of the leading sides in Europe.

In addition, there are fears City could face an exodus of their star players, while struggling to attract others to the club.

But finance lecturer at the University of Liverpool Kieran Maguire, believes such measures would be unnecessary, and there are some positives City can take from the ruling.

“There would be no need for a firesale,” Maguire told the Mail. “They will actually benefit from not being in Europe because FFP limits under UEFA are €30million losses over three years, compared to £105m under Premier League limits.”

This would enable City to spend more in the transfer market, providing they can balance their books to comply with Premier League guidelines.

Nevertheless City CEO Ferran Soriano remains confident the club will be successful on appeal when their case is heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Speaking to the official City website, Soriano said: “Well the most important thing I have to say today is that the allegations are not true. They are simply not true.

“We provided the evidence but in the end this FFP Investigatory Chamber relied more on out of context stolen emails than all the other evidence we provided of what actually happened and I think it is normal that we feel like we feel.

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“Ultimately based on our experience and our perception this seems to be less about justice and more about politics.”