Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has reportedly agreed to a contract extension as the club awaits the outcome of a trial against 115 charges alleging breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.
An independent hearing into the case officially began in September, but the verdict is not expected to be made public until spring 2025 at the earliest.
City have been accused of financial impropriety for nine years since 2009 and the harshest punishment if found guilty is relegation. Point deductions and fines are also possible penalties.
Regardless of his contract extension, Guardiola would have been in place for the ruling, with his existing contract running until the end of this season.
His new contract – a one-year contract with a possible option to extend for a further 12 months – opens up the possibility that Guardiola could manage Man City outside the top flight or with points deducted if the club is ultimately sanctioned.
Mail Sport has broken down the 115 charges Guardiola is facing.
Manchester City 115 FFP costs
Manchester City have been charged with a whopping 115 charges of breaching FFP rules over a nine-year period.
The period spans from 2009 to 2018. The full list of 115 charges was revealed in a Premier League statement in February 2023.
All of the allegations facing Manchester City are serious and if they are proven to have breached all or some of these charges, serious consequences should be expected.
The charges against the club will be investigated, assessed and analyzed by an independent committee.
Costs explained
Of the 115 charges, City face 54 allegations of failing to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information to the league between 2009-2010 and 2017-2018.
This gives the FFP a 'true and fair' picture of a club's income, including sponsorship deals and their operating costs, including player salaries.
Every club in the Premier League signs a code of compliance, which essentially translates into clubs agreeing to conduct themselves and provide the league with accurate and up-to-date reports that are expected to be audited every year.
In recent years City have been accused of inflating the value of their sponsorship, which is linked to their owners.
They also face 14 charges for failing to provide accurate financial reports for player and manager compensation for those seasons.
The Manchester team also faces 35 charges of failing to comply with Premier League investigations from December 2018 to the present.
All 115 of City's charges were first reported by German newspaper Der Spiegel.
Timeline of the 115 charges that come to light
Trial and possible punishments
The legal process between Manchester City and the Premier League officially began in September.
The trial has been heard behind closed doors as Premier League rule regarding FFP breaches states that any ruling before an independent committee will be conducted in private and strictly confidential.
The behind-closed-doors case means the media will know nothing of the trial until the Premier League has revealed a final verdict.
Therefore, the media will learn about the ruling at the same time as everyone else.
With regard to penalties, current legislation provides eight possible penalties for a club caught violating FFP rules.
Like any form of punishment, some punishments are much harsher than others, with one essentially being a slap on the wrist and others damaging to the future of the club.
Both City and the Premier League have the option to appeal any verdict, but not to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the body that overturned City's 2020 UEFA ban.
Possible penalties:
There are a number of possible sanctions, including a points deduction in the Premier League or even complete exclusion from the competition.
The Commission would have the power to impose the following sanctions on a club.
Manchester City separate lawsuit against the Premier League
City – who declined to comment – denied wrongdoing and launched a separate lawsuit against the Premier League
The Premier League champions want to end the top flight's Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules, which they say are illegal.
The rules – introduced in December 2021 – aim to maintain competitiveness by preventing Premier League clubs from entering into commercial deals with companies linked to their owners.
City claimed in a 165-page legal document that the rules had been adopted by rivals to stifle their on-field success as a 'tyranny of the majority'.
The club has accused rivals of 'discrimination against Golf ownership' – after the rules were introduced shortly after the Saudi takeover of Newcastle United.
Rival clubs claimed that City's appeal could destroy the competitiveness of England's top flight because it would allow wealthy clubs to spend an unlimited amount of money on player teams and infrastructure.
Man City claimed a Premier League victory in October when APT rules were deemed 'illegal'.
The new rules for Premier League clubs will be voted on on Friday. Man City wrote a letter to all 19 clubs – and the FA – last week warning that the league's proposed changes to sponsorship rules remain 'unlawful' and raised the prospect of further legal action.
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