Manchester City are reportedly preparing a major transfer move worth £100 million to bring in a replacement for one of Pep Guardiola’s most favored players at the club

Three years on, Manchester City’s ongoing case continues to cast a dark cloud over English football. What was expected to be a straightforward legal matter with a clear timeline has evolved into an unprecedented and harmful episode in the Premier League’s history. The drawn-out nature of City’s 115 financial rule violation allegations has transcended mere legal proceedings—it represents a crisis that tarnishes the English game and impacts all involved parties beyond just the Manchester club.

When the Premier League announced the charges against Manchester City in early February 2023, it rocked the football world. While widely known as 115 charges, some analysts suggest the actual count approaches 130. The announcement created massive waves throughout the sport, with observers anticipating a lengthy legal battle but never imagining that years later, there would be no resolution, transparency, or conclusion approaching.

The intervening period has been filled with court sessions, legal wrangling, unverified reports, dashed expectations, and relentless conjecture replacing concrete information. Resentment has intensified, exasperation has mounted, and faith in the Premier League’s capability to manage its most significant challenge has eroded substantially. Each passing day without resolution damages English football’s reputation more deeply.

The harm extends far beyond Manchester City itself. Competing clubs, athletes, coaching staff, and supporters across the league all suffer from not knowing whether their competition operates fairly. Football’s foundation rests on credibility, and when that foundation weakens, everything connected to it deteriorates.

Manchester City has maintained operations normally throughout this period. From day one, the club has categorically rejected any misconduct. Manager Pep Guardiola has consistently and openly supported the organization, expressing confidence in eventual exoneration. The squad continues delivering exceptional performances, accumulating silverware and setting new benchmarks. From a purely sporting perspective, City appears among the Premier League’s finest ever teams.

Yet every achievement comes with an invisible qualifier—a perpetual uncertainty. Each triumph gets followed by the inevitable reminder about pending judgment. This situation is unjust to City, to Guardiola, and to the dedicated players earning their honors through performance.

Meanwhile, the broader football community remains in limbo about potential outcomes. Could City face guilt or vindication? Might relegation occur? Point deductions? Substantial financial penalties? Or perhaps no consequences whatsoever? The complete absence of answers creates a poisonous atmosphere.

Consider a scenario where Manchester City edges Arsenal for this season’s title by slim margins, only to have points removed months or years afterward, retroactively awarding Arsenal the championship. Such a situation would satisfy no one. Championships should be earned through competition, not determined in legal chambers long after matches conclude.

Similar concerns apply to previous campaigns, including those dramatic seasons where City defeated Liverpool by razor-thin margins in thrilling contests. If penalties were eventually imposed for financial matters dating back over ten years, what purpose would that serve now? The earliest allegations predate Guardiola’s arrival—how can that be equitable to him, current squad members, or supporters?

This timing problem represents a fundamental issue with the case. Years have elapsed, personnel has changed, tactics have evolved. The allegations feel removed from present circumstances. When legal proceedings extend this long, their relevance diminishes and they risk becoming meaningless.

Additionally, many supporters increasingly believe that truly serious charges wouldn’t require such extended deliberation. The three-year absence of conclusions leads some to question the case’s strength. Whether accurate or not, these perceptions carry weight and currently inflict damage.

Football finance analyst Kieran Maguire has proposed that the Premier League may have complicated matters by pursuing so many allegations simultaneously. By including everything rather than concentrating on the most compelling accusations, the league virtually ensured a protracted, complex, and draining legal contest. More allegations necessitate more documentation, more debate, more sessions, and inevitable delays.

The Premier League typically seeks resolution within one season—that’s the standard. However, even simpler matters have dragged excessively. Leicester City’s PSR violation, though far more straightforward, still extended unreasonably. When the independent panel finally released its reasoning, the document exceeded 100 pages—for a single case. Manchester City faces over 100 allegations. The magnitude is staggering.

After the Premier League filed charges, an independent commission assumed control. From that point forward, neither the Premier League nor Manchester City could directly influence proceedings. Legal professionals, extensive paperwork, and exhaustive hearings dominated. While legal processes inherently move slowly, this seems excessive.

Throughout this period, countless predictions about verdict timing have emerged. Some speculated announcements during international breaks to minimize disruption. Others suggested summer releases, then October, then just before Christmas. Journalists drafted unpublished stories. Supporters waited endlessly. Nothing materialized.

The notion that such a monumental decision would be scheduled merely to suit media cycles is absurd. This isn’t trivial content to fill slow news periods. This represents one of football’s most significant cases ever. Treating it as a scheduling matter only amplifies the absurdity.

By this point, the allegations have almost become white noise. Manchester City continues recruiting players who appear unconcerned about the case. Why should they worry? No resolution exists, no punishment has been handed down, and no urgency is apparent. The uncertainty has been normalized, which itself constitutes a problem.

Brief moments suggested potential change. Some influential executives previously vocal about City’s situation during Premier League meetings have departed their clubs. Daniel Levy from Tottenham and Tim Lewis from Arsenal were particularly outspoken. Their exits sparked additional speculation about behind-the-scenes developments and whether City felt confident about exoneration. However, definitive answers remain elusive, and this opacity encourages conspiracy thinking.

Within football circles, word suggests City anticipates the harshest potential outcome being a financial penalty. If accurate, this would raise serious questions about why the process consumed so much time and inflicted such damage. But once again, certainty is absent. Everything remains speculation.

This situation particularly disservices Pep Guardiola, whom many consider the Premier League’s greatest manager. His teams demonstrate football at its finest, advancing the sport itself. His impact resonates throughout English football, from youth development to top-level competitors attempting to replicate his methods. His accomplishments are extraordinary.

Yet each Guardiola trophy comes with an accompanying shadow—a qualifier, a reminder about unresolved proceedings. This is inequitable. Guardiola didn’t establish past financial frameworks. Many allegations concern periods preceding his appointment. Despite this, his reputation has become entangled with a case he didn’t initiate.

Rival clubs also deserve better treatment. Arsenal, Liverpool, and others have developed squads, invested resources, and competed honorably while trusting the competition’s rules. They merit clarity about whether they’ve competed on equal terms. Leaving this fundamental question unanswered for years undermines league integrity.

Supporters represent the primary casualties. Football should be straightforward—victories, defeats, celebrations, disappointments. Instead, this case has injected doubt into everything. When City wins, some fans feel outrage. When they lose, others claim it proves nothing pending the verdict. Enjoyment has been compromised.

The Premier League markets itself as the world’s premier league, emphasizing drama, fairness, and competition. However, this case has revealed serious structural flaws. An organization cannot claim authority and credibility while allowing its history’s largest investigation to meander indefinitely.

Eventually, accountability must be accepted. Either the Premier League shouldn’t have initiated proceedings without capacity for timely conclusion, or the system requires fundamental restructuring. Three years represents an excessive duration—far too excessive.

This isn’t about desiring Manchester City’s punishment or exoneration specifically. It’s about wanting resolution—regardless of direction. Football requires closure. City requires closure. Their competitors require closure. Supporters require closure.

Currently, the Manchester City case inflicts more damage than benefit. It overshadows every title race, contaminates every discussion, and undermines confidence in league governance. With each passing day, the damage intensifies.

English football deserves better than this perpetual uncertainty. If the allegations have merit, demonstrate it and proceed accordingly. If they lack substance, exonerate the club and advance. The present situation represents the worst conceivable outcome: doubt, mistrust, and humiliation.

After three years, this episode should never have reached this juncture. The Premier League must identify a path to resolution, because until it does, the blemish persists and the game’s integrity continues deteriorating.