Manchester City guilty verdict casts doubt over squad retention and new signings
Guilty verdict triggers uncertainty for City squad
Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. The independent commission’s finding was confirmed on Tuesday, with the club maintaining its denials and preparing an appeal that must be lodged by Friday.
BBC Sport spoke to sources close to the first team about how the judgment affects dealings in the transfer market and existing players’ futures amid the prospect of losing Premier League status.
Player retention and contracts
Sources say there is a significant level of concern inside the squad about how they will be affected. The scathing tone of the Premier League’s statement has fuelled scepticism that the forthcoming appeals will bring reprieve, although others point to chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and chief executive Ferran Soriano’s vows to prove the club’s innocence.
A drop down the leagues is widely expected to trigger a mass exodus. The squad is filled with international talent whose profiles and personal sponsorship agreements benefit from Premier League football. City hold the contractual power: they can demand transfer fees and the majority of players do not have relegation clauses in their contracts.
Contracts are understood to be fully guaranteed, meaning players would not be required to take percentage pay cuts if top-flight status is lost. With one of the world’s highest wage bills, maintaining that expenditure without Premier League income would be harder, even with potential parachute payments, the eligibility of which is uncertain.
“Some players want medals, all players want money,” one agent told BBC Sport. Renewals are also complicated by uncertainty. Amending a contract retrospectively, for example to include a relegation clause, generally cannot happen, so any exit strategies would have to be negotiated as new deals. Agents believe players will be advised to wait for clarity on sanctions before opening talks.
Only Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes, Marcus Bettinelli and Geronimo Rulli have contracts expiring in the next two summers, limiting immediate renewal pressure.
Transfers and academy promotion
The looming punishment complicates recruitment. “This isn’t the players’ failing, it’s on the club. Potential new signings aren’t even in the building and joining City without knowing what the punishment would be represents an undeniable risk, so any new contracts would have to have indemnities,” a leading agent said.
City players do have release clauses in their deals should the club enter administration, but writing eventualities into new registrations is very difficult. Until a post-appeal verdict on sanctions is made, making new signings will be more complicated, though the club still has financial muscle.
One potential method to persuade a player to join would be a big-money contract with no pay decreases on relegation and a fixed-fee release clause if City do not return to the top flight within a set period. If sanctions include relegation and further points deductions stretching over multiple seasons, attracting elite players will be harder.
Interest in City’s top players from other elite clubs across Europe is expected to grow while the saga plays out, making retention difficult. Should relegation be confirmed, City will have to rebuild to some extent, though a transfer embargo as a sanction would prevent any signings at all.