Manchester City is at the center of a new wave of investigations into alleged financial violations, according to lawyer Pietro Alosi, a sports law expert at the Palermo Bar. The episode, which began in 2018 with a series of investigative journalism articles, saw the English FA open an investigation into the club, which was then suspended by UEFA, but subsequently reopened by the federation itself. The Sports Arbitration Authority (TAS) had canceled the economic and sporting sanctions, but the issue remains open.
Alosi explains that the accusations focus on alleged sponsorship contracts in which the club president declared advertising amounts higher than those actually received, thus inflating revenues and altering the financial regularity of the club. According to the lawyer, Manchester City has already lodged an appeal and a commission is examining the details. However, the English decision is not expected to have direct repercussions on UEFA, which has established a five-year limitation period for financial fair play issues. As a result, the club's European victories are not likely to be revoked unless new challenges emerge within that timeframe.
The most serious scenario, according to Alosi, would be exclusion from the English championship, a hypothesis that the club is trying to avoid by demonstrating full compliance with the rules. Other possible outcomes include financial sanctions or championship points penalties. For the other teams in the group, such as Palermo, Girona and New York City, the lawyer is convinced that there will be no direct sporting consequences, although a possible financial sanction to the parent club could affect the overall budget of the group.
On the transfer front, Alosi says it is not likely that a transfer freeze will be imposed on Manchester City. The whole affair, however, could push club owners to review their internal controls more carefully and comply more strictly with financial fair play criteria, in order to avoid similar disputes in the future. The case awaits further developments, with the Commission continuing to examine the evidence presented by the club and the English FA.