On Sunday, the players of Manchester City lifted the Premier League trophy for the second year in a row, marking their 4th Premier League win. However, little did they know that after this triumph, calamity followed. In the past, City has not only gained fame and fortune from the Premier League but also the Champions League, Europe's flagship tournament. Nonetheless, due to an investigation held by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the organization that holds the Champions League, the Sky Blues may miss out on the next grand tournament.
In 2014, Manchester City faced allegations and was convicted for infringing on a specific Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulation that limited the number of financial losses that a club could record. As a result, its UEFA Champions League squad was reduced on top of being fined £49 million. One would think that they learned from this punishment. Nevertheless, according to the investigation, they once again face charges of deluding financial managers. Consequently, prior prime minister of Belgium, Yves Leterme is said to decide City’s fate in a different chamber that may be held later this week. The chamber’s goal is to ban Manchester City from the UEFA Champions League for one season if they are found guilty.
However, City has also been found of using a loophole to deal with these penalties. To cover up for their economic negligence Manchester City brings in money from their owner’s home country to patch up any fees, including the ones mentioned earlier. The English club owner Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also known as Sheik Mansour, is related to the President of the United Arab Emirates. Most likely exploiting his authority, Sheik Mansour has acquired inflated sponsorship deals with companies from the UAE. As a result, whenever City loses a great amount of money, it can simply be regained from these very companies, the likes of which include Etihad, one of City’s biggest sponsors.
Nonetheless, having breached FFP regulations and being tied to these inflated sponsorship deals creating loopholes with these very regulations, Manchester City is in trouble with the UEFA. With Pep Guardiola just starting to get his squad together, a one season Champions League ban could be missing out on a great opportunity.
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