MANCHESTER CITY could be EXPELLED from the Premier League after they were charged with more than 100 alleged breaches of financial rules.
Other possible punishments include a points deduction for the reigning champions, transfer bans, spending limits and even the stripping of previous titles.
The investigation into the club's dealings has lasted for four years.
And now the Premier League have published their findings on their website – and it does not make good reading for the Etihad club, although at this stage they have been charged but not found guilty.
The charges relate to breaching regulations over nine seasons between 2009 and 2018, with the investigation starting way back in December 2018.
That was prompted following the publishing of leaked documents by German website Der Spiegel – with the investigation focusing on three specific areas.
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The first alleged issue is "under-age players were pressured to sign contracts with City through monetary payments".
Secondly, that Abu Dhabi sponsors "provided only a portion of their payments to the club", with owner Sheikh Mansour stumping up the rest, in turn overstating the sponsorship income.
Lastly, ex-boss Roberto Mancini received a "significant portion" of compensation from a "fictitious consultancy contract" when he left the club in 2013.
It is also claimed by the Premier League in their unprecedented findings that City did not comply with Uefa regulations surrounding club licensing and financial fair play in 2013-14 and between 2014-15 and 2017-18.
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Another breach relates to Prem profit and sustainability rules in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18.
The Premier League also accused City of failing to cooperate and assist with the investigation.
Uefa slapped City with a two-year ban and fined the club £25million in February 2020 for alleged financial fair play breaches.
However, just five months later, that was overturned and the final fine was cut to £9m by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Now the findings of the investigation and multiple alleged breaches have been referred to a commission.
Commissions are independent of the Premier League and its member clubs, with the commission's members appointed by the independent Chair of the Premier League Judicial Panel.
The Premier League added: "The proceedings before the Commission will, in accordance with Premier League Rule W.82, be confidential and heard in private.
"Under Premier League Rule W.82.2, the Commission’s final award will be published on the Premier League’s website."
Should they be found guilty, the ramifications could be catastrophic for City – and even Pep Guardiola.
The Spaniard threatened to quit as manager if it transpired the club's owners had lied to him about any wrongdoing.
Speaking in August 2022, he declared he would not want to be in charge of a club that he felt had breached financial fair play rules.
Guardiola said: "I said to our people, 'Tell me' about the suspicions. I looked at them and believed them 100 per cent from day one so I defended the club because of that.
"I did say, 'If you lie to me, the day after I am not here. I will be out and you will not be my friend any more.'
"I like to represent a club that is doing things properly. In the end, it's not about winning the Champions League or Premier League, it's about always doing it well, for our people and our fans.
"What CAS said meant a lot. It broke all the suspicion.
"I can not forget that nine teams in the Premier League pushed to sack Manchester City from European competitions, I know who they are."
As the club did in 2020 with the Uefa appeal, the Etihad side will likely establish a significant legal team of expert lawyers to fight their case.
City won the title three times in the period covered by the investigation – in 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2017-18.
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They have also finished top of the table three times since – in 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Arsenal fan Piers Morgan joked he wants Manchester City to be slapped with an immediate points deduction – to boost the Gunners' chances of winning the current season.
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