• Loading stock data...
Saturday, August 2, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

Manchester City’s On-Field Collapse Deepens With Charges Looming

Manchester City continues to slump on the pitch, with major rulings off it set to come down in the coming months.

The Columbus Dispatch

Manchester City had little to celebrate on Boxing Day, drawing 1–1 to middling Everton as its stunning collapse continued. The Citizens have won a single Premier League game since October, an unthinkable stretch for a team that has dominated England over the last eight years.

City has won the last four league titles and six of the last seven. With the calendar flipping to 2025, they now sit seventh in the league table, behind teams like Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest. That would be their worst finish since the 2008–09 season, when the Emiratis finalized their purchase of the team. Though the club is performing well financially, a seventh-place finish would leave them outside of Champions League and Europa League qualifying. 

A year ago, the team was in fifth place in the Premier League, but Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne were about to return from injuries. This time around, the fixes are far less obvious. There is the January transfer window, but Ballon D’Or winner Rodri is not returning after blowing out his knee in September.

“We have a lot [of injuries] and this is a problem,” City coach Pep Guardiola said of the transfer window Wednesday. “It’s about bringing a player for the next four or five years and we’ll have to see. Sometimes it is not easy. We have to try because this is sustained for a long time.”

The once-unthinkable prospect of missing out on European qualifying would be costly.

The club has appeared in the Champions League every year since 2011 and would miss out on $3.7 million by qualifying and $11 million for advancing out of the group stage. The winner nets roughly $28 million. While less prestigious, Europa League pays almost $4 million for qualifying and roughly $9.4 million to the winner with the total purse netting almost $25 million if a team manages to win all its group matches on its way to winning the competition. 

The club recently reported $901.7 million in annual revenue for the fiscal year, which ended June 30, which was a 0.3% increase year-over-year. Net profits fell roughly 8% to $93 million, but are still part of a decade-long streak of reported profits, outside of the pandemic season.

Looming over everything, obviously, are the 115 charges the Premier League levied against City in a trial that concluded earlier this fall. The league alleges City cooked its books, including disguising ownership payments as sponsorship revenue. The club claims it is facing  “discrimination” from the league, going as far as to assert it has been held back by existing rules as “a tyranny of the majority.” (Narrow rulings in other cases have gone in City’s favor.)  Given the severity of the league’s allegations, any number of punishments—from point deductions to forced relegation—are possible, with appeals likely. In August, one Premier League owner told Front Office Sports, “I think they will be relegated.” 

On the pitch, City has just eight wins in 18 matches in the PL, and 11 in 27 across all competitions. Their nine losses in their last 13 matches were as many as they had lost in the 106 before that.

“Football is about winning, scoring goals, and not conceding, and we’ve always done it until the last month and a half,” Guardiola said. “Now we’re not able to do it.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Leo Messi
exclusive

MLS Commissioner Don Garber Defends Messi Suspension

Messi was punished for skipping the MLS All-Star Game.

How Sports Leagues Are Responding to NFL Headquarters Shooting

The building housing the NFL headquarters was barricaded and closed Tuesday.

Top MLS Voices Advocate for International Schedule Change

The league is still weighing a move to align with international soccer.

Featured Today

Coco Gauff at New York Liberty

How the New York Liberty Became the Hottest Ticket in Town

Once banished to the burbs, the Libs are now Brooklyn’s marquee attraction.
Las Vegas sign
July 29, 2025

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Limited Hype
July 27, 2025

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.

Bengals Extend Stadium Lease After $350M in Public Funds for Renovation

The Bengals will stay in the 25-year-old stadium through at least 2036.
July 31, 2025

Ferrari Extends F1 Boss Weeks After Red Bull Fire Horner

Fred Vasseur joined Ferrari in 2023.
August 1, 2025

Commanders Seal Stadium Deal As D.C. Approves $1.1B in Funding

The NFL team’s return to its prior home receives key political support.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
July 30, 2025

Mayor Calls Commanders RFK Stadium Deal ‘a BFD’ for D.C.’s Future

The NFL team makes a series of additional commitments.
July 30, 2025

Trey Hendrickson Ends $450K Holdout Without New Bengals Deal

The defensive end is seeking a raise on his $16 million 2025 salary.
July 29, 2025

Mario Lemieux Trying to Reacquire Penguins 4 Years After Selling

The former NHL great looks to return to team ownership.
Jun 10, 2025; College Park, Georgia, USA; Indiana Fever injured guard Caitlin Clark (22) follows the action from the bench against the Atlanta Dream during the second half at Gateway Center Arena at College Park.
July 24, 2025

Caitlin Clark’s Injury Not Worse, but Status for Chicago, Dallas Unclear

Clark has been out since suffering a groin injury on July 15.