Manchester City could face a fresh Premier League investigation into seasons after 2018, though FourFourTwo reports a loss of titles is unlikely.
Manchester City have 114 charges hanging over them, FourFourTwo notes, and now the years after 2018 could come under the microscope too.
The Independent reported that English football executives are pushing for a further investigation, which could bring further charges for the seasons from 2018 onwards. Journalist Miguel Delaney reported that City are currently unlikely to be stripped of their titles.
The backdrop is September's ruling. An independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the financial rules between 2009/10 and 2017/18. They were charged with inflating sponsorship figures by nearly £1bn over nine years in which they won the league in 2012, 2014 and 2018. The inquiry began after Der Spiegel published leaked emails in November 2018.
City continue to assert their innocence and have appealed, with a verdict awaited. If that fails, the matter could go to the High Court and run past the end of the season.
Executives are split on what follows. Some believe commercial deals after 2018 will be seen as made under the associated party rules and assessed at fair market value, though that view faces scepticism after the guilty ruling. One source asked: "what changed overnight?" Another, cited by Delaney, suggested a second investigation could be leverage in penalty talks rather than a stand-alone effort.
My reading: a threatened probe is cheap to announce and expensive to prove. Scrutiny or bargaining? The reporting leaves both possibilities open. Follow the money. It never takes a day off.
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Sources
Meanwhile at the desk
Read it like a poker hand: executives push, the Independent reports it, and one source says a second probe may just be a chip at the penalty table. If this is bargaining, the concession is the pot.
114 charges, nine years, three titles in the frame. City still have to go to Nottingham Forest this weekend, and the pitch does not read the Independent.
