Manchester City staff are facing the prospect of job losses if the club are relegated as punishment following their Premier League charges.
Several employees who The i Paper spoke to, who wished to remain anonymous, said they understood that any potential relegation – a possible punishment for City – could have wider consequences.
There are concerns that jobs could be at stake.
Relegation would mean a significant loss of revenue and staffing would potentially need to be drastically reduced.
Uncertainty is at the forefront of their minds. There has been no contingency planning for a guilty verdict.
The charges cover the seasons 2009-10 to 2022-23 over a number of areas (Photo: Getty)Some believe that process was the correct one, as “people may operate differently in their jobs if they thought there was a chance things could change so dramatically”.
In other areas, City lead the way in succession planning. Some staff are frustrated that the possibility of a guilty verdict was not addressed.
“This season is going to be so difficult to focus on now,” one staff member said. “How can we look to the future, when we don’t know what our future looks like?”
While City’s initial response has been to indicate they will fight the charges, with the process still “ongoing”, according to the club itself, there has been open speculation in football about whether that commitment will continue if the impact is as significant as some expect.
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak’s open letter to City supporters on Saturday afternoon sought to reinforce the club’s outward confidence about being vindicated, while there is clearly a long way to go before the case reaches its conclusion.
One source at a rival Premier League club said Friday’s news was probably “half-time” in the case. The verdict has also prompted questions about the future ownership of the club.
The potential for compensation cases following the verdict – with four clubs having already indicated they will pursue legal action if the independent commission’s decision holds – could leave City Football Group facing claims worth hundreds of millions.
Pep Guardiola said he would walk away if he ever felt he had been lied to (Photo: Getty)That could raise questions over the owners’ future commitment to the club.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire likened it to the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia’s approach to LIV Golf, where the losses eventually reached a scale where it was no longer worth pursuing and they decided to take the reputational hit of closing it down.
“Manchester City’s accusations cover a nine-year period so the scope of what rival clubs could be claiming for is huge,” he told The i Paper.
“There’s loss of bonuses from sponsors, loss of winning the Premier League in its own right and not competing in the Champions League. We could be talking astronomical amounts of money here.
“So what would be the reaction of Manchester City’s owners to this? They could take the same approach as PIF did to LIV Golf. They realised the extent of the losses, decided they didn’t want to do it anymore and could they therefore walk away?
“Manchester City would still be an attractive proposition to a new owner but a lot of undecided issues to be resolved.”
The club maintain their innocence and are expected to appeal the decision (Photo: Getty)For anyone associated with City, schadenfreude has long been part of life at the club.
Supporters used jibes about “little old City”, empty seats or their uber-wealthy Abu Dhabi owners for their own amusement. Everybody hates us, and we don’t care.
They have been told by Al Mubarak and Pep Guardiola that the club was not guilty of the 115 charges levelled against them by the Premier League. Supporters believed them, as fans do. Their confidence in the club’s position made it difficult to think otherwise.
Friday changed all that. The verdict that City supporters – and those who had watched the case continue for years without a conclusion – had been waiting for finally arrived.
Supporters are now left to consider what happens next.
“I’m just sort of tired, as a City fan, I’m tired,” City podcaster and YouTuber Steven McInerney told The i Paper.
“It’s all draining, and I honestly would much rather be just talking about Rayan Cherki playing football.
“It’s hard to know where to plant my flag. Football clubs are not on a local level anymore, everything is so murky, we are dealing with international politics here.
“Unless I spend days reading all these documents and try to understand the litigation, all I can talk about is what it feels like to be a fan.
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Comment: Man City should be relegated and stripped of their titles Explained: Three ways Man City could be punished – including the titles they could lose“I need a solution so we can make some form of sense and then I can talk about football at City again, whatever level that will be at.
“If City are relegated and properly punished, then lots of people will want answers. I am not saying City fans will demand an apology, but we need someone senior to come out to us and explain things, so we can recreate that bond again.
“The appeal process cannot drag on for years. City fans will not be able to take that. We need clarity, one way or another.”
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