Manchester City: Rival clubs want more than relegation from the Premier League
A number of Premier League clubs want Manchester City to be hit with both "retrospective punishments" and sanctions for the future for their mass financial rule-breaking, sources have told BBC Sport. An independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.
However, there is said to be a consensus among a group of top-flight club executives that if City's appeal is unsuccessful, the sanctions should make reparations for the period when they broke the rules, while also limiting their powers in future. There is also a feeling from at least four Premier League boardrooms that a "one-hit" points deduction resulting in relegation to the Championship would be an insufficient punishment given the severity of City's wrongdoing.
There is understood to be nuance in exactly what clubs consider a fitting penalty for the eight-time Premier League champions,who were found guiltyof all serious financial rule breaches in a damning verdict by an independent commission. One senior club source said City should be stripped of their titles, and added there was "no great rush" among clubs to push for the redistribution of trophies, but rather to take honours away and leave them vacant.
The source warned the credibility of the Premier League would be lost if City were allowed to keep the eight major trophies they won during the period they have been found guilty. However, in a sign of a range of opinions across the league, BBC Sport waspreviously toldthere was little appetite among other clubs for City to be stripped of titles.
Regarding the timescale for sanctions in the future, there is a concern among club executives that a sanction applied just to one season would merely provide City with a "bump in the road" given the likelihood of them returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking. A number of Premier League figures therefore believe any points deduction should be split over multiple seasons, while there is also a sense that transfer bans that stretch over a number of windows would also significantly hinder City's ability to regain their top-flight status as quickly as possible.
One club source also said it would be "bizarre, almost obtuse" if City were able to trade in the upcoming January transfer window, if this process is ongoing and sanctions have not been applied. Some clubs cited feeling "in the dark" regards the Premier League, including around the chronology and timescales of the appeal and the sanctions hearing.
However, sources said there was "empathy" and "understanding" about the difficult position the Premier League is in, given the gravity of this situation and the ongoing legal process. Regarding financial reparations, one idea that has been mooted - and which a club source found "merit" in - was to apply a "tariff-based system", whereby City's past league finishing positions would be altered via a points deduction.
Rival clubs could then be paid compensation by City based on where they would have finished versus where they did finish. BBC Sport understands Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca will speak to players collectively after they arrive back from international duty on Thursday, before their Premier League match against Liverpool on Sunday (16:30 BST).
The trip to Anfield is their first game since news of the verdict broke. Merseyside Police says it has received queries in relation to the match, and when asked by BBC Sport if any special measures would be put in place the force said it will have "an appropriate policing operation in place on the day".