Man City to suffer over £170m loss after being axed from UCL
Manchester City were on Friday night banned from the Champions League for the next two seasons for ‘serious breaches’ of UEFA’s financial fair play regulations.
The move sent shockwaves through football and may now see questions raised over their domestic success.
The reigning English champions were found to have circumvented FFP rules between 2012 and 2016 and have been fined £25million.
Serious questions may now be asked by the Premier League, with sources suggesting they may impose a points deduction.
City won their first title in 2012 and their second in 2014, both within the time period UEFA adjudicated upon.
However, the Premier League may well decide to wait for the outcome of an appeal City have vowed to launch before deciding whether to take action of their own.
Questions may also be raised over the future of manager Pep Guardiola, his players and potential signings.
Sportsmail understands that club officials contacted Guardiola on Friday afternoon and his players individually to make them aware of the coming announcement.
City say they will appeal against the decision at the earliest opportunity via the Court of Arbitration for Sport. They accused UEFA of ‘initiating, prosecuting and judging’ the case and say they are not surprised at the outcome.
UEFA launched a probe after documents published in German media suggested the club had falsely inflated sponsorship deals with firms linked to their Abu Dhabi ownership.
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A UEFA statement said: ‘The Adjudicatory Chamber has imposed disciplinary measures on Manchester City Football Club directing that it shall be excluded from participation in UEFA club competitions in the next two seasons (ie. the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons) and pay a fine of €30million.’
City reacted furiously to the development and say they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).