Reports stemming from the English media today suggest that Real Madrid and Bayern Munich were among a number of clubs to have pushed Uefa to heavily punish Manchester City for the club’s recent FFP infringements.
City made an example of
The bombshell announcement regarding City’s punishment arrived late last week.
First, a number of highly-reliable sources confirmed that the Premier League champions had been slapped with a 2-season Champions League ban, and hit with a £25 million fine.
This was swiftly followed by confirmation on the part of Uefa, in a statement which read:
‘The Adjudicatory Chamber, having considered all the evidence, has found that Manchester City committed serious breaches of the Uefa Financial Fair Play Regulations by overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to Uefa between 2012 and 2016.’
‘The Adjudicatory Chamber has also found that in breach of the regulations the club failed to cooperate in the investigation of this case by the CFCB.’
The decision on the part of European football’s governing body came on the back of an in-depth investigation into Manchester City’s financial situation.
This investigation was reportedly sparked by Der Spiegel in November of 2018, after the German publication highlighted the fact that the Sky Blues had falsely inflated the club’s revenue gained through sponsorship, in a bid to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.
KHARKOV, UKRAINE – SEPTEMBER 18: Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League group C match between Shakhtar Donetsk and Manchester City at Metalist Stadium on September 18, 2019 in Kharkov, Ukraine. (Photo by Matt McNulty – Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
Uefa pressured
As outlined above, though, it appears as though Uefa were actually under significant pressure from outside sources to make an example of Manchester City.
According to Matt Slater of the reliable Athletic, a number of European heavyweights pushed the governing body towards their eventual decision.
These clubs included the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
City’s Premier League rivals, meanwhile, are also said to have been involved.
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