Manchester City have been found guilty of 114 out of a total of 115 charges of violating the Premier League's financial rules. Ahead of the official decision on the punishment and the club's announced appeal, Daily Mail sports editor Oliver Holt has issued a sharp criticism that hides strong messages, bTV reported.
He believes that all trophies won since the arrival of the owners from Abu Dhabi, as well as the Pep Guardiola era, are now permanently tarnished.
“While Pep Guardiola may not have known about the irregularities, he directly benefited from a system built in a dishonest way“, thunders the Daily Mail. The media points out that the greatest tragedy is that the most serious opponents of the "citizens" and their fans have been deprived of historic moments.
“If City had played by the rules, Sir Alex Ferguson would have had 14 titles, Steven Gerrard would have won the Premier League with Liverpool (2013/14), Jose Mourinho would have celebrated with United (2017/18), and Jurgen Klopp would have won at least two more titles and gone down in history as the greatest manager of the post-Ferguson era“, the publication states.
Finally, Holt adds that sanctions are the only fair solution.
“Simply adding an asterisk to the disputed titles is not enough and City should be stripped of all the trophies won during this period (2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024), and the club should be expelled from the Premier League and enter the Championship. The entire reputation of English football is at stake. Any lighter punishment would mean that the fraud went unpunished!“.