Manchester City’s 115 Charges Have Now Outlasted Pep Guardiola

The Premier League has acknowledged that its case against Manchester City is taking longer than expected, more than three-and-a-half years after the club were first charged with 115 alleged breaches of its financial rules.

City were charged in February 2023 following a lengthy investigation into their finances, with allegations covering a period stretching back to the 2009/10 season. The club have consistently denied wrongdoing.

The subsequent hearing eventually began in September 2024 and concluded 12 weeks later in December. At the time, a decision was expected the following spring.

Spring has now had two attempts.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said this week that he understood the frustration surrounding the continued delay and admitted the process had taken longer than anticipated. Confidentiality rules mean he remains unable to say when the independent commission will finally publish its decision.

In the meantime, Manchester City have undergone a rather more conclusive change.

Pep Guardiola has left.

The Spaniard had repeatedly insisted during his time at City that he would remain with the club even in the event of a severe punishment. In 2023, Guardiola said there was more chance of him staying if City were relegated to League One than if they were competing in the Champions League, and he reiterated that commitment after signing a new contract the following year.

He never got the opportunity to find out.

Guardiola’s decade-long reign has now ended, Enzo Maresca has replaced him and City are preparing to begin another Premier League season with the case still unresolved.

It will be the fifth season to contain some portion of the saga since the charges were announced.

The charges have therefore survived title races, transfer windows, managerial changes and eventually the manager who once promised to remain at the club whatever punishment they produced.

Manchester City are still waiting to discover whether they have a case to answer.

Guardiola was unable to wait quite as long.