By Andrew Warshaw
June 13 – A driving rainstorm could not dampen Manchester City’s celebrations when thousands of fans greeted the treble winners in an open-top bus parade in the city centre on Monday.
But in the wake of the club finally landing the elusive Champions League trophy on Saturday, in the process establishing themselves firmly among Europe’s elite heavyweights, there is a nagging elephant in the room.
The Premier League’s financial fair play investigation into the club may have been the furthest thing from the minds of City’s jubilant players and fans after reaching the pinnacle of their exploits with the 1-0 win over Inter Milan, but the fact remains that over 100 charges for alleged rule breaches still loom large in the background.
It’s not the first time, of course, that City have fallen foul of the authorities. In 2020, they were banned from European football competitions for two seasons for “serious breaches” of club licensing and FFP regulations.
The ban was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, although the body ruled that City had failed to cooperate with UEFA authorities and had an original fine of €30 million reduced to €10 million.
In all likelihood it will be business as usual during this summer in terms of City’s planning for the future but critics will doubtless continue to point to a hefty charge sheet despite the club vehemently denying any wrongdoing.
If found guilty, City face punishments ranging from fines and points deductions to expulsion from the league though the last of these is unlikely and the time scale is as yet unknown. It could in theory take years.
While no-one can dispute their on-the-field accomplishments, until the charges against them are resolved it’s hard to know precisely how much praise to heap on Pep Guardiola’s team for everything they have achieved since the club came under Abu Dhabi ownership headed by Sheikh Mansoor.
According to multiple reports, Saturday’s Champions League final was only the second game he had attended since his investment vehicle, the Abu Dhabi United Group, purchased City in 2008.
Yet while money talks, jealousy also plays a part. City’s fans would argue that their success is not all down to eye-watering financial backing which a generation ago they could only dream about.
Football is littered with affluent clubs packed with star players who have under-achieved. That certainly can’t be levelled at Pep Guardiola’s side who proved on Saturday that they can win key games by digging in as well as by playing eye-catching, free-flowing football. They may have an array of individual talent at their disposal but they also play as a team – not necessarily a given. And in Guardiola they also have one of football’s finest tacticians.
Having entered the history books as only the second English team to win the treble, in purely footballing terms it seems unlikely City’s bubble will burst any time soon whether you love them or loathe them, or are somewhere in between.
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