Manchester City may find themselves in serious difficulty after the Premier League ambushed them by levelling up over a stunning 100 counts of financial violations in the a decade spanning from 2008 to 2018. This was Manchester City’s most glorious period, where they lifted an impressive 10 trophies including four Premier League titles. And the success is hugely credited to their owner Sheikh Mansour, as only after he completed a £200 million buyout of the club in 2008, they have tasted it.
Since the Abu Dhabi based billionaire Sheikh Mansour began his reign as City’s owner in 2008, he has provided funding for City to make profitable transfers in order to develop a star-studded team that still operates as a contender for every club title available. However, amidst the allegations hit on them by the Premier League, Jose Mourinho’s famous comments over City’s relations with FFP are now going viral.
Mourinho’s rant over FFP’s ‘suspicious’ punishment to Manchester City goes viral
Its not the first time Manchester City have come under heavy scrutiny for their freewill spending. The defending league champions have spent over a billion in transfers in the past decade alone which has eventually churned success in the kind of trophies. But their splurge has formerly been punished as well by the FFP when they imposed a two-year temporary ban on Manchester City from participating in UEFA tournaments in February 2020
However, the Sheikh’s club appealed the ban in Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and they overturned the ban only four months later after it was levied on the English side. Many suspected that City escaped the punishment too easily given the serious charges they were slammed it. And it was then, that Mourinho, who was Tottenham’s manager at that time came up with another set of famous comments over the FFP. He said:
“I think it’s going to be the end of the Financial Fair Play, because there is no point. If City are not guilty, the decision is a disgrace. If City are guilty, the decision is also a disgrace. It’s a disgraceful decision because if City are not guilty of it then you are not punished with £10m.
“If you’re not guilty you shouldn’t have a fine. If they are guilty the decision is also a disgrace and you should be banned from the competition. I don’t know if Manchester City are guilty or not, but either way it’s a disgraceful decision. I would like to see Financial Fair Play in the proper way.
“I would like to see City considered not guilty and not pay one single pound, or to be considered guilty and to be banned. But, in this moment we are speaking about Man City, where in the past other clubs have been in a similar situation and you know the results of it. So I think it’s better to open the circus door and let everybody enjoy and go inside for free, do it all with freedom.”
Mourinho tried to imply that there was something suspicious or did not fit the scenario when the FFP punished Manchester City. However, Pep Guardiola’s team could face serious punishment this time if found guilty and cannot look to CAS once again to bail them out according to the FA rules and regulations. Heavy fines, points-deduction, relegation and even stripping them off of their league titles won in that period are being touted as possible penalties.