Although it’s still likely to be a year or so away, the Premier League’s decision on Man City’s alleged 115 financial breaches could be ‘nuclear’ according to football finance expert, Kieran Maguire.
The complexity of the entire situation can arguably be blamed for why it’s taken so long to even get to its current point.
Everton’s 10-point deduction on one charge was, by comparison, easy to be dealt with and judgment passed quickly as a result.
The reigning champions and treble winners have had a little wobble in the English top-flight of late, but they’d still be most people’s favourites to win another Premier League title and a fourth in a row would be unprecedented.
Were they to be found guilty of the charges being levelled against them, however, the likelihood will be that many of their successes will be null and void, and the punishment could see Pep Guardiola managing much lower down the English football pyramid than expected.
“I don’t think the charges will necessarily sway his (Guardiola’s) opinion,” Maguire told Football Insider.
“As a coach, he is pretty much unparalleled in football. He doesn’t need the money, for him it is about personal challenges and I expect that will be more a driving force for him.
“He has never managed in League One, so that will be a new challenge for him should City face a nuclear-style punishment in terms of being relegated down a division or two.
“But of course, they are innocent until proven otherwise in regards to their financial charges.“
Any decision is bound to be appealed by the club, so the saga will continue to rumble on for a while yet.
For the sake of football as a whole and for the Premier League in particular, it’s imperative that the right decision, whatever that may be, is arrived at.