Man City banned from UCL for 2 seasons due to FFP violations... Team faces risk of 'collapse'

Protest posted on Manchester City's official website / Photo by Manchester City official website capture

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Sung-yeol] Manchester City of the English Premier League (EPL) has been sanctioned by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for violating Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. As a result, the departure of key players, including manager Pep Guardiola, is anticipated, raising concerns about the potential disintegration of the team.

On the 15th (Korean time), UEFA announced, "It has been revealed that the break-even information submitted by Manchester City to UEFA between 2012 and 2016 was exaggerated," adding, "Manchester City has seriously violated UEFA club licensing and financial fair play regulations."

Accordingly, UEFA imposed a ban on Manchester City from participating in the Champions League (UCL) and Europa League (UEL) for the next two seasons (2020-21, 2021-22). A fine of 30 million euros (approximately 38.5 billion KRW) was also imposed.

Local media such as the British public broadcaster BBC reported, "The Football Association (FA) of England may also impose additional sanctions on Manchester City." Among the possible additional penalties are point deductions in the league, and even the possibility of relegation to League Two (4th division) has been mentioned.

Since Sheikh Mansour took over as the owner of Manchester City in 2008, the club has grown from an "ordinary team" to EPL champions. According to a report by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) under the F?d?ration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) last year, Manchester City invested about 2 trillion KRW in building its squad over ten years since Mansour became the owner.

Based on Mansour's oil money, Manchester City established itself as a strong European team in the 2010s, winning the EPL four times, the FA Cup twice, and the League Cup four times.

Pep Guardiola, Manchester City manager, making a distressed expression during the match
[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, in 2018, football-specialized media 'Football Leaks' and German media 'Der Spiegel' mentioned Manchester City's violation of FFP regulations, putting a brake on the club's winning streak. They reported that Manchester City circumvented the FFP rules, which prevent excessive spending beyond club revenues, by inflating sponsorship amounts.

The UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB), which launched an investigation, stated, "Manchester City reported receiving 67.5 million pounds (approximately 104 billion KRW) annually from its main sponsor Etihad Airways between 2012 and 2016, but in reality, it did not even receive 8 million pounds (approximately 12.3 billion KRW)." There were also discrepancies in other sponsorship amounts.

In response, Manchester City issued a statement on its official website, rejecting UEFA's decision and announcing plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Some are even mentioning the potential disintegration of the team following the sanctions against Manchester City. It is expected that it will be difficult to retain players whose contracts run until June next year, including manager Pep Guardiola, leading to the departure of players and the coach.

Manchester City has lost the financial capacity to pay existing players' salaries due to the FFP regulations, and the suspension from league participation has eliminated key revenue sources such as broadcasting rights fees, appearance fees, and prize money.

Meanwhile, after Tottenham's victory against Aston Villa on the 17th, manager Jos? Mourinho addressed the situation at a press conference. Mourinho, who led Manchester United during the 2017-18 season, finished second behind Manchester City that year.

When controversy arose over Manchester City's championship status due to the sanctions, Mourinho said, "I had no intention of spending time analyzing what UEFA or FIFA are doing," adding, "Is the team that finished second in 2018 now the champion?"

He further stated that he would focus only on the immediate competition, saying, "If we finish 6th or 7th in the league, it doesn't matter, but if we finish 5th, we go to the UCL."