Everything you need to know about Manchester City’s FFP fees

Manchester City players who won the Premier League title — City have won the last four Premier League titles (Photo: AFP via Getty Images)

The trial will finally begin today into the Premier League’s 115 allegations against Manchester City for allegedly breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

Pep Guardiola’s side were punished by the Premier League in February 2023, but fans disagreed about the lack of punishment.

The situation is made worse by the fact that since the start of last season the Premier League has already punished Everton and Nottingham Forest for lesser offences.

Clubs in England’s top flight previously voted to speed up the establishment of independent commissions for teams accused of excessive spending.

This was to ensure that any penalty would be affected by the breach of the regulations, hence Everton and Forest were penalised for breaking the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

However, according to The Telegraph, the Premier League says City’s case is different due to the depth, scale and complexity of the 115 allegations against them.

Everton were only charged with one offence when they were first docked 10 points – a number that was eventually reduced to six – which explains why the Premier League were able to deal with their case so quickly compared to City.

What are the 115 allegations against Man City?

Manchester City have been accused of breaking financial regulations over a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018.

They reportedly failed to provide accurate financial information and the Premier League referred the matter to an independent commission.

City authorities have always vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

Man City’s 115 alleged breaches explained

54 alleged breaches of failure to provide accurate and timely financial information from 2009–2010 to 2017–2018 inclusive.

14 alleged breaches of failure to provide accurate financial statements relating to player and manager remuneration from 2009-10 to 2017-18 inclusive.

5 alleged breaches of UEFA regulations, including UEFA regulations on club licensing and financial fair play.

7 alleged breaches of Premier League profitability and sustainability regulations between 2015-16 and 2017-18 inclusive.

35 alleged breaches arising from failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 to present.

Why weren’t Manchester City punished?

Pep Guardiola pictured during the Champions League round of 16 second leg match between Manchester City and FC Copenhagen — Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City’s situation is “completely different” to Everton’s (Image: Getty)

The Premier League argues that City’s case is logistically much more time-consuming and will take much longer to reach a penalty.

Everton were not happy with that explanation and believe that by cooperating with the Premier League they exposed themselves to an earlier punishment.

When can we expect a verdict in the Man City trial?

One of the biggest trials in sports history will finally begin on Monday, September 16.

The charges will be heard at an undisclosed location at an independent hearing that is expected to last 10 weeks, with a verdict likely in early 2025.

What is Financial Fair Play?

The Premier League, Football League and UEFA have their own regulations governing club finances, which fall under the umbrella term FFP.

The most well-known set of rules comes from UEFA, which first implemented the FFP rule before the start of the 2011/12 season.

Under UEFA’s original rules, clubs were not allowed to spend more than €5m (£4.2m) of what they earned over a three-year period, or €30m (£25m) if the owner could cover the losses.

In 2022, UEFA approved new rules that, until 2025, a club’s total expenditure on transfers, wages and agent fees cannot exceed 70% of its total revenue.

Clubs will be allowed to make a loss of €60m (£53.6m) over a three-year period, with an additional loss of €10m (£8.9m) a year allowed if a club is deemed to be “financially sound”.

Expenditures on infrastructure, training facilities and youth development are not included in the FFP formula.

The Premier League has its own financial framework which prevents clubs from paying significantly more than they earn.

Premier League clubs must also file annual financial reports, disclose all payments made to agents and pay transfer fees, wages and tax bills on time.

What kind of punishment could Manchester City face?

Manchester City CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak pictured with Ferran Soriano watching the match against Everton — Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak says 115 allegations are ‘very frustrating’ (Image: Getty)

Jamie Carragher suggested back in October that if City were ultimately punished, they could face relegation to the National League North – the sixth tier of English football.

“The PL (Premier League) wants to deduct 12 points from Everton for one offence,” Carragher wrote on X.

If PL have their way, Manchester City will land in the National League North!

“It’s unbelievable how much coverage there is of the Everton situation, while the Man City case, with 114 consecutive allegations and going on for much longer, is very hushed up.”

“One rule for one and one rule for another”

Sean Dyche watches the Everton FC vs Burnley FC Premier League match — Sean Dyche believes there are double standards when it comes to finances (Photo: Getty)

“Like everyone else, we’re wondering what makes one rule apply to one and another to another,” Everton boss Sean Dyche said in February. “I think it’s the only thing. I don’t know the details of everything, but I think we’re all asking that. People on the street are asking, ‘Why Everton?’

“I don’t know what the exact number is, but they’re talking about more than 100 charges against City. I don’t know what the implications are either. I don’t know the details of the charges, but you say, ‘Well, we’ve got one.’

“Just use common sense, I’m not talking about principle. I’m not questioning Man City or whether they did anything or not. I mean, it’s certainly been a long time coming. This story has been going around for a while now about all these allegations.

“I think you’ll agree it’s not just Everton fans. I know football people. I live in Nottingham, I know Forest fans and when I travel I stop at church services and there are always football fans who say, ‘What’s this all about?’

“Not just Everton fans, but people wonder, ‘Where did that come from?’ When asked, the answer is usually the same, which is, ‘Why is it you and not this one or that one?’

“So everyone’s a little bit like, ‘So where is this going?’ – if you’re going to do it with them, you’re going to have to start doing it with everyone, and you’re going to have to speed things up because it’s important now. We’ll see.”

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