Guardiola tipped to quit as Man City ‘expulsion’ from the Premier League predicted by three sources
Three separate sources have predicted Manchester City will be booted out of the Premier League if found guilty of breaching Financial Fair Play, while Pep Guardiola has been tipped to perform a U-turn on remaining loyal to the club.
Man City vehemently denied any wrongdoing when accused of breaching Financial Fair Play on 115 separate occasions. Those charges were levied against the club in February of 2023 and their case is finally expected to be heard this coming Autumn. However, a final ruling may not arrive until the Spring of 2025.
However, given the accusations against City date all the way back to the 2009/10 season and there are 115 charges, their case is far more complex.
The commission that ruled on Forest’s recent four-point deduction clarified how they reached their decision on the type of punishment handed down.
In doing so, Robert Glancy KC, sports law specialist Mark Hovell and accountancy expert Steve Holt confirmed “expulsion from the Premier League” is a very real possibility for more severe breaches.
The commission stated potential punishments “range from a warning through to expulsion from the Premier League”.
They added: “Where a PSR breach is ‘minor’, then it will be for other commissions to determine if any points deduction is necessary, appropriate or proportionate.
Related video: Guardiola's first Man City XI: where are they now? (Soccer Stories)
“But if the breach is properly described as ‘major’ then it may be the case that even a very severe sanction such as expulsion is more appropriate.”
According to the Sun, the scale of the allegations made against City would almost certainly put them in the ‘major’ breaches category.
Expulsion talk grows
Former Everton and Aston Villa CEO, Keith Wyness, recently suggested that Premier League “expulsion” is now “on the table” for Man City “for the first time.”
Now, speaking to Football Insider, former England international, Paul Robinson, agreed expulsion from the top flight is possible. However, the ex-goalkeeper did state that level of punishment would be “harsh.”
“First of all, we have to look at it from a Man City point of view,” said Robinson.
“They’re absolutely adamant that they have not done anything wrong and they’re fighting the case the whole way, hence why it is taking so long.
“They’re quite confident that they can make this go away. Four points for Forest, six points for Everton for one breach – can you imagine what Man City have breached if they are found guilty?
“You only have to look at Rangers when they were expelled from the league. The way that it’s been run so far – nothing is impossible with the sanctions.
“There’s not a list of punishments that fit the crime. They’re each dealt with on an individual basis. Forest got less of a deduction [than Everton] because they played ball.
“There’s no level playing field for each crime. Everton and Forest were charged with the same thing, but they were both dealt with differently.
“If you look at City, who knows what’s going to happen? If they are found guilty, expulsion could be a possibility, but harsh.”
READ MORE: Man Utd sweating as Man City threaten to hijack record-breaking deal for top Ratcliffe target
Guardiola could walk away?
One potential outcome floated in the media if City are found guilty is dropping all the way down to League Two.
Pep Guardiola has publicly stated he’ll remain loyal to Man City and won’t desert the club if that is the end result. That came on the back of Guardiola revealing City chiefs have given him assurances they have done nothing wrong.
However, speaking to Football Insider, former CEO Wyness suggested Guardiola would quit the club if the severest of punishments are handed out.
“I think he’s already been given assurances that there was no wrongdoing, and if that turned out not to be the case – he would go,” Wyness told FI.
“A negative decision for Man City would have a lot of ramifications.
“I’m sure Pep Guardiola would not want to manage a club in League Two, so I think he probably would go. It wouldn’t work out very well for him to stay, would it?”
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8 players who have fallen out with Pep Guardiola: Cancelo, Eto’o, Zlatan…
There’s no doubt that Pep Guardiola is one of the best managers of all time, but the Catalan coach hasn’t gotten to where he is today without falling out with some players along the way.
Guardiola is one of the most demanding managers around and his extensively detailed approach doesn’t always rub players the right way.
And that continues to be the case at Manchester City today. We’ve taken a look at eight players that Guardiola has famously fallen out with.
Joao Cancelo
Guardiola sent out a stern message that absolutely nobody is indispensable by allowing Joao Cancelo to leave out on loan to Bayern Munich in January 2023.
It looked like a risky manoeuvre at the time, given it’s the one area of his squad not stacked with world-class options.
Especially as Cancelo looked like one of the best full-backs in the world, one of City’s most dangerous and creative players, and among the first names on the teamsheet as they claimed back-to-back Premier League titles.
But Guardiola was vindicated; his team knocked Cancelo’s Bayern out of the Champions League and are on track to win a historic treble. Cancelo, who?
Stories later emerged suggesting Cancelo, who had fallen behind Rico Lewis and Nathan Ake in the pecking order, had been a disruptive influence in the dressing room.Related video: Guardiola's first Man City XI: where are they now? (Soccer Stories)
Remember when Pep Guardiola took over as Manchester City boss
The 29-year-old told the Portuguese sports newspaper A Bola: “Lies were told. I was never a bad companion for them and you can ask either Ake or Rico. I don’t have any superiority or inferiority complex towards them.
“I think Manchester City were a bit ungrateful to me when they said that because I was a very important player in the years I was there. I never failed in my commitment to the club, to the fans. I always gave everything.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
“You bought a Ferrari, but you drive it like a Fiat.”
Those were the famous words of Ibrahimovic after working with Guardiola back in 2009.
Barcelona splashed out £59million to land Ibrahimovic back in 2009 and it didn’t take long before the pair were butting heads. The striker only lasted one season in Spain before heading back to Italy.
“As a coach, he was fantastic,” Ibrahimovic explained. “As a person, I’ve no comments about that, that’s something else. He’s not a man, there’s nothing more to say.”
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READ: What they said: The 14 players to work for Mourinho and Guardiola
Samuel Eto’o
“My experience with Pep at Barcelona was what it was, but on a personal level it wasn’t what we hoped for. Many players have said the same about him.”
Eto’o was a fellow big-name forward that Guardiola struggled to maintain a personal relationship with. Eto’o ultimately got the last laugh as his Inter side would then thwart Barcelona’s defence of the Champions League in 2020, beating them in the semi-finals.
The striker even once said: “I can’t compare Mourinho to Guardiola, one of them couldn’t win the Champions League with Bayern Munich and the other one did it with Porto.”
Ouch.
Alexander Hleb
Hleb’s spell at Barcelona was massively disappointing as he only managed to feature in 19 league matches before being shipped off on several loan moves.
While Hleb and Guardiola didn’t see eye to eye at the time, Hleb’s thoughts on the manager have softened over time as he has admitted his mistakes.
He told a Russian sports programme: “I didn’t regret my move to Barcelona. However, after I left Barca, I actually started to feel it. But honestly, I’m the one to blame. There were changes in my personal life, I was nervous, I didn’t listen to anyone.
“When Guardiola told me to learn Spanish, I took his words aggressively and kept my collision course. Surely, what coach would put up with all this stuff?
“In the long run, everything was going wrong. We won the Champions League in 2009 but I was upset even then: I played all the games before the final and was left out of the squad for the crucial game. I didn’t expect that to happen. I wanted to punch him after the game.
“Now I’m calm, I understand him well. If I were Pep, I would do just the same.”
Yaya Toure
Toure attacked Guardiola in an interview with France Football where he claimed: “When you realise that he has problems with Africans, wherever he goes, I ask myself questions.”
Since making those comments, Toure himself has been more apologetic towards the Spanish manager and that he regretted his original comments.
Toure later told The Athletic: “When something happens that is wrong and you make a mistake, or people use your name and use you to do some wrong stuff, you have to make it OK.
“This one was wrong. I want to apologise for what happened, I want to apologise for doing something wrong.”
Guardiola worked with Toure at both Barcelona and Manchester City and yet he never really got the best out of the Ivory Coast midfielder.
Joe Hart
It’s worth remembering that Hart was one of the best shot-stoppers in Europe at one point. The two-time Premier League-winning goalkeeper was a popular player at the Etihad.
Hart revealed a conversation he had with Guardiola when he first arrived in Manchester. The goalkeeper told The Stiffs podcast: “It was a two-hour conversation that kind of ended with him saying, ‘I can’t see this working’.
“I thought that might be the idea. ‘I don’t agree with you,’ he said. ‘I’ll be the first person to be proved wrong but what I see in you isn’t what I want from my goalkeeper.’
“I was like, ‘It’s all very well saying that, but I’ve never been asked to do the kind of things I know you like goalkeepers to do, so I think it’s only fair I be given the opportunity.”
Claudio Bravo swiftly took Hart’s place in the Man City side and Hart was never able to get back to the same level of consistency.
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TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every player Pep Guardiola has used at Man City?
Cesc Fabregas
Guardiola spent one season working with Fabregas at Barcelona and some interesting truths have come out since the pair left the club.
Fabregas admitted in 2020 via Marca: “No (relationship now), no, with Pep nothing at all. I don’t know if the disappointment with Pep is mutual. Things happened, but I prefer not to talk about it.
“Pep was my idol since I was a child. It is him I have learned the most (from), perhaps, since I was four until now.”
This awkward encounter between them makes all the more sense now.
Dante
Guardiola delivered three consecutive league titles while he was at Bayern Munich although not everyone was a fan of his methods.
Former Bayern defender Dante told Sport: “He doesn’t speak with you. As a player you don’t know what situation you’re in. There are coaches that from a tactical point of view are world class but on a human level they’re not so good. That is the case with Guardiola”
READ MORE: Comparing Man Utd and Man City’s net spend since Guardiola arrived
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Pep Guardiola’s 30 most-used players throughout his career?
Ratcliffe makes major U-turn on Man Utd star who has ‘saved’ Ten Hag’s job at Old Trafford
Manchester United are set to offer Scott McTominay a new contract, despite the midfielder being deemed surplus to requirements at the start of the season, according to reports.
The Scottish international has proven to be an important player this season. Having scored seven goals in the Premier League, he’s currently the club’s joint top scorer along with Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund.
McTominay wasn’t a regular in the starting XI under Erik ten Hag last season and speculation surrounding his long-term future was rife at the start of the campaign.
West Ham tried to prize the 27-year-old away from Old Trafford in the summer, but they were ultimately unsuccessful in their approach.
His current deal with the club is set to expire in the summer of 2025, with the club holding the option of an extra year. However, following his impressive form, a new contract is now in the pipeline.
According to the Daily Star, Man Utd have decided to keep McTominay and offer him a fresh contract to secure his long-term future.
Ratcliffe has reportedly been impressed with the Scotsman’s performances during the season and is now prepared to reward him for his impressive form.
According to the same report, the United midfielder is currently taking home a weekly salary of £60,000. With a new contract being in the works, you’d imagine he’d secure a reasonable pay rise too.Related video: England manager Southgate dismisses disrespectful Man Utd links. (Sports AlDente)
Amid speculation linking him to Manchester United,
READ MORE – Next Man Utd manager: Five Gareth Southgate alternatives analysed as Ratcliffe reflects on Ten Hag future
McTominay has proven his worth this season
The Scottish international is a useful player for Ten Hag to rely upon, especially given the number of roles that he can perform in.
In years gone by, McTominay has often been utilised as a holding midfielder, but his attacking output cannot be denied this year.
Across all competitions, he’s scored nine goals for the Red Devils this season. Along with his prolific form at club level, he’s been just as ruthless for Scotland too.
Only five outfield players have played more minutes for Man Utd than McTominay has in the league this season. He’s racked up 1466 minutes of Premier League football which is already more than he played in the entirety of last season.
Scotland’s national team coach John Carver recently claimed that McTominay’s goals have helped keep Ten Hag in a job this season.
“He’s gone back and fought his way into that Man United team and now the manager is delighted,” Carver told reporters. “He’s got him in the team and there were a few games where he saved his job I think.
“He is an example of a player who has gone away to his club, worked extremely hard and he can fit into the system we want to play. I think he can get better.
“He has got better for Man United and it’s not easy getting into a Man United team with the history, tradition and what goes on behind the scenes.”
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Chelsea: Boehly has ‘no way out’ with points deduction ‘coming’ this year; Palmer’s asking price emerges
According to ex-Everton CEO Keith Wyness, Chelsea’s points deduction for the ‘biggest breach’ of Profit and Sustainability rules ‘so far’ is ‘coming’ this year.
Everton and Nottingham Forest have already been docked points for breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules and Chelsea are at risk of the same fate.
Another points deduction?
Under current regulations, Premier League clubs are only allowed to lose £105m over three years. Chelsea have yet to submit their accounts for the 2023/24 season, but the previous two years leave them with a combined loss of £211.5m.
Manchester City are also in hot water at the moment and Wyness believes “expulsion” from the Premier League would be “on the table” if they are found guilty of their 115 charges for allegedly breaching Financial Fair play rules.
Speaking on Chelsea’s situation, Wyness suggested a points deduction is ‘coming’ and “there is no way out of this one” for the Big Six club.
“I think this time next year, we’re going to be sitting here discussing the Chelsea rule breach,” Wyness told Football Insider.
READ MORE: Man City stars reassigned after FFP ‘expulsion’… Foden to Chelsea as CB gets ‘dream’ Liverpool move
“I don’t think the Premier League have left themselves anywhere else to go but a serious points deduction.Related video: Why Chelsea Cannot Score Goals (FourFourTwo)
but let's just just have a look here.
“I think Chelsea could have had the biggest breach so far – unless there is some very clever engineering done in the transfer market, but I think it will be very hard to do.
“Listen, don’t underestimate Todd Boehly and his ability and connections with Saudi Arabia.
“There is a lot of connections between Saudi and his investment group to try and pull something out of the fire, but I feel there is no way out of this one for Chelsea.
“This time next year, we’ll be talking about unhappy Chelsea fans. There will be a lot more documents from the Everton and Nottingham Forest cases setting up precedents for how these things are going to be handled. It won’t be pleasant reading for Chelsea.”
“It’ll happen around Christmas time…”
Wyness has also indicated that Chelsea will learn the verdict during the midway point of the 2024/25 campaign.
“I think it will happen mid-season for Chelsea if they are in breach for the 2023-24 season,” Wyness said via Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast.
READ MORE: Conor Gallagher next? Ranking all 10 academy products to swap Big Six clubs
“The Premier League will have seen the problems they have created and will be keen to expedite things as well as they can.
“I think if something is to happen at Chelsea, it’ll happen around Christmas time. That would be the right time to get this stuff resolved.
“It will be pretty clear by June where things are, and the numbers should be filed. Chelsea will then have to face the music.”
The sale of one or two pricey assets would ease Chelsea’s issues and Cole Palmer has been heavily linked with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City in recent days.
Palmer has been sensational for the Blues in his debut season since leaving boyhood club Man City in a deal worth around £42.5m.
According to Football Insider, Chelsea have named their asking price for Palmer. They explain.
‘A well-placed source has told Football Insider that Chelsea would look to at least double their money if Palmer were to be sold.
‘Football Insider revealed on Monday (18 March) that the Londoners are ready to give him a big-money new contract to reflect his importance to the side.
‘Palmer is not currently near the highest-paid bracket of players at Stamford Bridge and it is believed he will be given a significant pay rise if a new deal is signed.
‘Chelsea’s willingness to negotiate comes despite his current deal running until June 2030 – with the Blues looking to keep the midfielder happy.
‘The Londoners already value Palmer at more than £85million and could demand a fee comparable to the figures paid for Declan Rice and Jack Grealish if they are forced to sell.’
