Man City's 'asterisk era': £1.2bn of transfers built on £830m of 'sham' contracts, commission rules

The most famous goal in English football is now tangled in doubt

Outside Manchester City's Etihad Stadium stands a lustrous silver statue of Sergio Aguero — mouth agape in ecstasy, kit swirling over his head — immortalising the most famous goal in English league football history, when City snatched the title from Manchester United in the dying seconds of the 2011-12 season.

But what if the goal never happened? What if Aguero had never played for the club? What if City had abided by football's financial rules instead of purposefully breaking them through a 'disguised funding scheme'?

The revelation that the club has been found guilty of the charges brought against it by the Premier League three and a half years ago has left football fans around the world questioning the legitimacy of City's achievements between 2009 and 2018 — the period when they were the most successful club in English football and cemented themselves among the global game's elite.

Some supporters are now referring to it as the 'asterisk era', and there is a possibility City could be retroactively stripped of the honours they earned during the period, with some clubs seeking legal advice over potential financial compensation.

£1.2bn of spending propped up by falsified income

Manchester City spent roughly £1.2bn on new players in the transfer windows between summer 2009 and January 2018. In that time the club won seven major trophies — three Premier League titles, one FA Cup and three EFL Cups — having previously gone without a significant honour since 1970.

The players purchased during that spell included some of the world's best in every area of the pitch, with multiple signings in the tens of millions every summer making huge contributions to the club's consistent success.

Long-time captain Vincent Kompany joined before the breach era, but stars such as Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, Fernandinho and David Silva were all signed during it, alongside the likes of Yaya Toure.

The commission that found the club guilty determined that £830m had been falsely pumped into the club by its owners under the guise of sponsorship income. City did generate other revenue in that time, and income was also spent on wages, utilities, insurance, infrastructure, marketing and foundations — but the figures underline that City would simply not have been able to purchase the quantity and quality of players they signed had they not been conducting what the commission described as a 'concerted campaign to falsify' their financial accounts.

No Aguero, no Silva, no Toure, no De Bruyne?

If City's financial power had been slashed by the extra £830m the commission says was falsely added to their books, their transfer spend would surely have been massively reduced — perhaps halved, yielding half the players, or the same number at heavily reduced quality.

'Which potentially means no Aguero, no David Silva, no Yaya Toure, no Kevin De Bruyne, or at least a significant reduction in the number or ability of the less glamorous players who were key cogs in the trophy-winning machine.'

Would those successes have been achieved without the rule breaking running in tandem? And what would the impact have been on every other club in the Premier League over that time? Nobody will ever know — the seasons cannot be replayed. The outcomes exist in a kind of mixed reality where the world watched them happen but isn't sure if they are really 'real'.

The era also provided the foundation for City's ongoing success, meaning more trophies and TV income — and the chaos of the situation has unleashed doubt about the present and future.

What happens next?

City have until Friday to mount an appeal. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the club will at some point be handed a punishment — though whether any sanctions will retcon the past is unknown.

Right now, football fans — both of City and other clubs — do not know whether the football they are watching is 'real'. Are City actually top of the league and in a title challenge, or will they be docked points later in the season? Could transfer links with other clubs' star players be blocked at some point? Will City be in the Premier League next season, or could expulsion force a significant rejigging of the pyramid?

And what comes further down the line? Is anybody else breaking rules right now that fans will only discover later? Does the potential for years of results to be retroactively kiboshed undermine the league's popularity with fans, players and sponsors? And can the action fans watch week-in, week-out ever fully be trusted again?

The answers to those questions will determine the future of the biggest league in the world's most popular game.