For the last ten years, Manchester City has been the undoubted most successful club in the EPL.

It went past its famous neighbour Manchester United, picking up more trophies and attracting some of the best footballers in the world.

Manchester City is run by the Arab company Abu Dhabi, and it has made Manchester City one of the top football clubs in world football.

Now Manchester City has been exposed and found guilty of  115 financial charges. The club was run on lies, it is now being said, and many of its transactions were questionable.

There are now calls for Manchester City to be severely punished, with some demanding the club not only be relegated but forced to relinquish a number of titles.

Clubs like Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United are looking at making big financial claims citing Manchester City’s skullduggerry, saying it cost them millions of pounds in lost revenue.

Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak insists that he will be fighting these charges and that the club always acted in good faith, complied with all rules and did nothing untoward.

Clubs owned by Arabs or with big Middle-Eastern backing will now come under greater scrutiny. How was this allowed to happen? Why was Abu Dhabi so dishonest? 

Those are the questions being asked by football pundits, analysts, EPL officials, former players and managers.

It is now incumbent on Manchester City’s top brass to clear the club’s name and be transparent. 

This revelation will undermine all that Pep Guardiola accomplished. His ten-year tenure as Head Coach saw him covered in glory and hailed as the best manager ever to operate in English football, better even than Sir Alex Ferguson.

Now there is an Asterix by his name as it pertains to his time at the club. The trophies he won count for nothing; they were achieved by ill-gotten means. Hearing the news about Manchester City, former Liverpool Head Coach Juergen Klopp can’t be happy and will feel he was robbed of even greater accolades. 

With the club now in shambles, will Erling Haaland still remain loyal or will he now seek pastures new, perhaps Real Madrid? If Manchester City were to face sanctions and get relegated, it’s hard to imagine him playing in League One and facing off against the likes of AFC Wimbledon on a Saturday afternoon. 

Manchester City faces the prospect of all the trophies it won between 2009 and 2018 being rendered void for breaching financial fair play rules. Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand says this could see him add another trophy to his bulging winner’s cabinet. 

This whole sorry mess will damage the integrity of the EPL, and it may very well be said that it is a top league defined by big money and not fair play.

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane did not pull his punches on this matter, saying, “ Whatever they have won over the last few years, they deserve to be punished.

“Where that should start and finish is difficult, but they were cheating. They were found guilty of it. They have to take their medicine now. To be found guilty of 114 of the charges, big news, it was.”

Football commentator and Arsenal legend Ian Wright weighed in with, “ They should be punished for it because they may have been able to experience those times together, but when you look at the teams that tried to chase them, they were doing it right. It’s not right. What could Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have experienced? 

“They cheated to get it done, and other teams’players have missed out on that. Players have missed out on unbelievable opportunities for themselves. I’m glad we have finally got there.”