What Are the Possible Punishments for Manchester City's Misgivings?

What Are the Possible Punishments for Manchester City's Misgivings?

Oh, dear City. International breaks are normally boring; however, you have decided to be kind and add some excitement to the long international break. We all know about the 115 charges that you have been facing. It looks like it’s finally time for you to find out what the punishment is for those charges.

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Manchester City found guilty on virtually all charges relating to breaches of Premier League financial regulations. #MCFC expected to appeal against verdict issued by independent commission. Sanctions undecided, process ongoing @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/Muxqp4beK9

— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) September 25, 2026

So, What Could They Possibly Be?

The Most Likely – Point Deduction

This is a punishment that, over the last few years, has become more and more common. It started with Nottingham Forest and Everton both receiving point deductions. However, since then, we have seen even more sides given this punishment. These two were then joined by Southampton, West Brom, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday.

Will this be the punishment?

Well, if you look at most of the top football finance experts, the answer is yes. They have been looking into this and see that, for the 114 charges, a sporting sanction is the most likely outcome. The next question is how many points we will see being taken off.

Kieran Maguire, who is a leading expert on this case, has had his say on this topic and believes that we could see a minimum point deduction of around 60 points. This would be a massive hit for Manchester City; however, they might be able to stay up with a 60-point deduction. While they haven’t been able to hit the massive points totals they used to, under Maresca they look different again. Therefore, a possible 90 points could just allow them to stay up.

🗣️ Speaking in January 2025, here's what football financial expert Kieran Maguire said about how points Manchester City are likely to be deduction if they're found guilty. pic.twitter.com/eozPeX1Vxn

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) September 25, 2026

However, the chances are very low that they would be able to stay up after a 60-point deduction. That then opens a new can of worms. As Ben Jacobs reported yesterday, there are questions over what would happen if City were relegated. This could potentially lead to an even more serious outcome for the club.

This would ultimately cause City as we know it to disappear, and they would never be the same club again. However, that is a very low chance of happening, while still being an option.

Less Likely – Long Transfer Embargo

This one is less spoken about; however, it is still a possible option. It wouldn’t be the only option for the Premier League to use, as it would likely come alongside a fine. However, it could be another option.

Stopping City from being able to make signings for an extended period would limit the growth that they would be able to achieve under Maresca. It would also mean that if players were to leave, the squad would not be able to replace them.

It would take a few years; however, an extended transfer ban would slowly cause City to lose their status as one of the best sides in the world. They would be losing elite players and not be able to replace them with someone of a similar level.

While it would allow City to theoretically spend a vast amount of money by the time the transfer ban ends, like Chelsea did in the 2020/21 season, they would likely not be in a position to buy the best players in the world. It would be another punishment that would eventually cause a lot of damage.

Least Likely – Fine

The final option, and the one that should be the least likely out of all the punishments that City could receive, is a fine. While people have been saying that Chelsea only got a fine and were found guilty of over 70 charges, there are key differences. One of them is the actual charges, as well as the circumstances surrounding them.

All other Premier League clubs were informed on the initial ruling on Thursday.

Manchester City consider the case ongoing. Appeal process has its own complications and limitations.

Comparing the case to Chelsea is largely unhelpful. #CFC agreed a settlement after self-declaring… https://t.co/hf9YyyceP0

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) September 25, 2026

Manchester City’s charges were discovered due to a leak of a document. Chelsea, on the other hand, self-reported their charges when Clearlake and BlueCo took over. The next difference is the cooperation that the sides gave during the investigation. Chelsea gave everything they needed and were completely transparent when it came to the investigation. City, on the other hand, didn’t help, and this caused some extra charges to get added to the list.

With these clear differences listed, you can start to see why the punishments for these sides are completely different and why you can’t use the Chelsea case as an example.

Therefore, it would be a shock if Manchester City only got a fine for their charges. It would be a massive slap on the wrist and would ultimately make the Premier League look unwilling to challenge the top sides in the league. The precedent it would set would be awful.

What Should They Get?

Based on everything that has happened and all the research that top journalists and financial experts have done over the years since the charges were first announced, the option of a fine shouldn’t even be included. City would be able to pay it without any issues for them or their future. It would be more of an incentive that they could do it again and face little to no repercussions.

The transfer ban is also less likely. It would feel like it’s a fitting punishment considering the charges included increased sponsor financing that allowed for more transfer power. However, the charges didn’t have a direct influence on the transfers that they made. These are normally the charges you see a transfer ban given for. They will often be used when a side has broken a rule around transfers.

Therefore, the only fitting option is a point deduction. It is the correct level of punishment for the charges and the number of charges City picked up. It would also leave a lasting mark on the league, showing that the Premier League has stood up and put its foot down against one of the biggest sides in the world.

Another option is stripping them of their titles. However, that would get increasingly messy, with clubs looking to get repercussions for the money they lost. That might be from not winning league titles or not making Europe due to domestic cup results. It might seem fitting; however, it would cause more issues and a lot of legal battles that wouldn’t be worth it.

Therefore, a point deduction should be the punishment, and it should be a size that we haven’t seen before. However, it might be a few months or even years before we see it, considering the appeal and final verdict still need to happen.