Manchester City could win legal row with Uefa but club’s Champions League ban is already having an impact
If Friday’s announcement that Manchester City face exclusion from the Champions League for the next two years was a bombshell, then the accompanying shrapnel is the endless list of questions posed by Uefa’s verdict.
What now for the most expensively assembled project in the history of football? Can Pep Guardiola be persuaded to stay at the helm if he is prevented from competing for club football’s holy grail? Will City also suffer a points deduction from the Premier League?
Or will the financial and political might of the current English champions succeed in overturning the punishment at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)? Will they bring Uefa to heel? And can the European governing body’s financial fair play (FFP) rules survive?
These are uncharted waters, so predictions are dangerous. City’s ban may stand. It also may not. It could be reduced to one season if CAS deems it heavy handed. It might merely be delayed by the club pursuing various legal challenges at their disposal.
All that is certain at this stage is the all-consuming uncertainty. That, and the paralysing effect it will have on City’s immediate plans.
Summer rebuild in doubt
This summer was meant to be a significant transfer window in the club’s efforts to make up ground on Liverpool, who have responded to being pipped by City last season by setting new standards in relentless excellence, and reclaim their status as the best in the land.
Key players are nearing the end of their time at the Etihad Stadium – David Silva has confirmed his departure at the end of the campaign, while Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho are in the autumn of their careers – and others, such as Vincent Kompany, have left without being replaced.
With Guardiola about to enter the final season of his contract, there is a school of thought that the effectiveness of the club’s summer trading may have a major impact on whether he decides to stay in charge at a club beyond the fourth year for the first time in his coaching career.
Could players resign?
But that rebuild is now riven with practical problems. For starters, how does a buying club begin to persuade potential signings to join them if all parties do not know whether they will be a part of the Champions League before late 2022?
From a financial point of view, how do City know how much they have to spend given that they may or may not benefit from playing in European competition, which was worth around £100m to them last season?
Then there is the question of whether Guardiola, the man in whom so much work was invested in attracting, will still be there. Will the club’s transfer targets want to commit to joining if they don’t know? Does Pep himself even know his plans at this stage?
City may yet even face a battle merely to hold on to their current stars, according to some legal experts.
Players could, it is argued, claim that the club has breached their contracts by acting in a way that has denied them Champions League football and, effectively, resign their posts.
It is an unholy mess. City, who responded to Uefa’s verdict by labelling the disciplinary process “prejudicial”, could yet overturn the ban. But in throwing their rebuilding plans into chaos, the punishment is already taking effect.