‘Life is too short’ – Man City want to turn the page with UEFA

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For years to come, the 2019/20 season which has taken over a year to complete, is bound to be talked about and remembered.

From the enforced suspension of all of the leagues because of COVID-19 to having to condense the end of the season into a period of a few weeks with games every few days, it has been totally unique.

One of the major sporting issues involved a potential Champions League ban for Manchester City after UEFA had accused them of Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches.

An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was ultimately successful for the Premier League club, and now chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, wants to draw a line under the matter.

“Life is too short to carry grudges,” he said to Manchester City’s official website and cited by BBC Sport.

“It is one of the most prestigious competitions in the world of sports and it is a competition we want to win and it is a competition we have to respect in order to win.

“And this was a challenge, it’s behind us, end of story. I am focused on one thing: how I can help this club compete in this competition and win it and how to have a constructive relationship with UEFA. I think it’s the only way to go.”

Having been reinstated to the competition, Pep Guardiola couldn’t guide his side to the title and City were, somewhat surprisingly, knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Lyon.

An expectation of a better return in 2020/21 will surely be there, meaning Guardiola’s new signings have to hit the ground running and complement those already in situ.

City’s owners have been patient to this point, but there must come a time when a line is drawn in the sand if the Champions League hasn’t been secured.

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