24 NEWS
Inthe1 1 yearssincetheEmiratiroyalSheikh
MansourboughtManchesterCity,theclubhas
wonthePremierLeaguefourtimes,saidMartyn
ZieglerinTheTimes.Itsplayershaveliftedtwo
FACupsandfourLeagueCups.Theonlymajor
trophythathaseludedCityistheoneitsowner
valuesmost:theChampionsLeague.Butforthe
nexttwoseasons,theclubwon’tappearinthat
competitionatall.Ina“seismic”decisionlast
week,Uefa(Europeanfootball’sgoverningbody)
handeddownthebanandas 30 m(£25m)fine
aspunishmentforCitybreaching“financialfair
play”(FFP)rulesbetween2 012 and2 01 6.The
decisionisnotfinal–Cityhasappealed–but
oncethePremierLeagueconcludesitsown
investigation,furtherpunishmentmaybeinstore:
thereisevenspeculationthatrivalswillcallforthe
club’srecentleaguetitlestobestripped.UnderFFP,clubscanmakelossesofnomorethans 30 movera
three-yearperiod,saidDavidConninTheGuardian.Therules
alsostatethataclub’sownercannotgetaroundthisbyinjecting
moneythroughasponsorshipdeal–whichiswhatMansourhas
beenaccusedofdoing.Overthefouryearsinquestion,Etihad
Airwayswasostensiblypayingthehuge annualsum of£67.5m
to sponsor City.Butaccordingto leaked emails,in the2013/ 14
seasonallbut£8m ofthat moneyactuallycamefromMansour’s
own companyvehicle,theAbuDhabi UnitedGroup.Citywas
also punished for“failingto cooperatein theinvestigation”,
anditcertainlydidn’thelpitself: theleakedemailsshow that
theclub’sbehaviour towards Uefahasbeen“hostile”.Youcan
see whyCity are angry, said MartinSamuelin theDailyMail.There’snothingfairaboutFFP.It’sintended
to“cementahandfulofeliteclubsandshutthe
restoutside”:bylimitinghowmuchownerscan
invest,itmakesitharderforclubstocompete
withthealreadywealthygiantslikeBarcelona
andBayernMunich.Citywasjusttryingto
“getinsidefootball’sfancycastlebeforethe
establishmentuppedthedrawbridge”.That’s
allverywell,saidPaulHaywardinTheDaily
Telegraph.ButCitysigneduptothoserules.
Uefahasdonetherightthing:thisbansends
a“messagethattheageofunfetteredpower
forbillionaireownershaspassed”.ThebigchallengeforCitynowisholdingthis
teamtogether,saidBarneyRonayinThe
Observer.WillRaheemSterling,KevinDeBruyne
andBernardoSilva–someofthefinestplayersin
theworld–reallybewillingtositouttheChampionsLeague?It’s
hardtoseehowaclubwithawagebillof£300mcanevenafford
toholdontoallthosestars,whenthecostofmissingouton
Europeanfootballisatleast£ 100 mayear.Andthenthere’sPep
Guardiola,saidIanHerbertintheDailyMail.Sincethebrilliant
managerarrivedinManchesterin 2016 ,therehasbeenasense
thatheis“merelypassingthrough”, andthiscrisiscould
precipitatehisexit–althoughhe insistshewantsto stickaround
forthe next twoseasons.Whatever happens, though,Citywill
stillhaveplentyof advantages:the“besttrainingcomplex,best
academyfacilities,bestplayeracquisitionsystem”.Andifthey’re
forced togivehomegrown players morechances,thatcanonly
be agood thing.It mightjust bethatamore“humble, joyful
ManchesterCityemergesfromthewreckage”.Football: Man City banned from Europe
SheikhMansour:acostlymistake?
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