Man City’s ex-financial aide warns Prem champions and Chelsea could be relegated

  • Bookmark

    • For the latest from the pitch sign up for our football newsletter

    Thank you for subscribing!

    For the latest from the pitch sign up for our football newsletter

    We have more newsletters

    Manchester City's ex-financial adviser warned his former club and Chelsea they could potentially face relegation from the Premier League following Everton's dramatic points deduction.

    The Toffees were struck with a historic 10-point deduction on Friday (November 17) after the club were found guilty of breaching profit and sustainability rules. Sean Dyche's side have since plummeted from 14th to 19th, with just four points on the board as they've now been plunged into a relegation battle.

    The Merseyside club were found to have overspent by £24million over the past five years during an investigation of an independent commission. Their hefty punishment could pale into insignificance however compared to potential sanctions against Manchester City and Chelsea if either of them are found guilty of similar wrongdoing – with reigning champions City having been charged with 115 alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules earlier this year, which they deny.

    READ MORE: 'I played for England in a World Cup – Gareth Southgate has overachieved as manager

    READ MORE: 'Everton points deduction shows football isn't played on the pitch – the maths doesn't add up'

    The Blues meanwhile must contend with questions regarding alleged payments connected to former owner Roman Abramovich, who sold the club last year to a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly. A Chelsea FC spokesperson said: "These allegations pre-date the club’s current ownership. They are based on documents which the club has not been shown and do not relate to any individual who is presently at the club."

    Stefan Borson, a lawyer who acted as an advisor for City, warned his former side and Chelsea that relegation from the top-flight is a possibility if charges against the clubs are proven.

    "Without seeing the judgement/award -10 points for Everton feels harsh for a straightforward FFP breach to me. But reinforces that sanctions against City [if proven] and now Chelsea [if charged and admitted on the off-books payments] will be potentially relegation inducing," he said.

    Should Manchester City get stripped of their titles if found guilty? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below

    "One thing is for sure, given the scale of this sporting sanction, Chelsea's calculus [in my opinion] that they could breach PL P&S [Profit and Sustainability] and just take a fine as a cost of doing business, must be in urgent and immediate reconsideration," Borson added.

    "The January window may be interesting. Even in the best case, they can no longer rely on being able to convince an Independent Commission to accept their Covid and Sanctions allowances as exceptional adjustments [to the extent that was the plan]."

    Borson explained why Everton's punishment was handed down swiftly while City have yet to face any consequences from the charges they face. "A glimpse from today's judgment as to why the City case takes so long (so much longer than Everton). Everton was really a relatively vanilla P&S breach case over the short period in question.

    "City's case is 10x more complex/voluminous. It has many more moving parts, more documents, more witnesses of fact and potentially, more experts."

    • Pep Guardiola
    • Manchester City FC
    • Chelsea FC
    • Premier League

    Source: Read Full Article