2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Ben Husband)
Pep Guardiola has revealed Manchester City will discover the verdict of their hearing into 115 charges of alleged Premier League financial breaches NEXT MONTH. City have won the last four top-flight titles but major question marks have been hanging over them, with potential sanctions ranging from massive fines to points deductions. City have vehemently denied the charges in a hearing which was sat between September and December last year.
The independent commission has unlimited powers to punish the champions - if found guilty. A result had been expected in the first quarter of 2025 and G uardiola has now admitted that the final decision is just weeks away. The revelation came after the City boss was asked whether their January window - which saw them spend £180million - was planned with the possibility of a future transfer ban in mind.
Guardiola said: "In one month, I think there will be a verdict and a sentence. After that, we will see my opinion of what happened so far." City signed four players during the January window in an attempt to reverse a slump which has seen their hopes of a record-breaking fifth title evaporate.
Defenders Abdoukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis, forward Omar Marmoush and midfielder Nico Gonzalez all arrived in a month where they spent more than the rest of the Premier League combined. But Guardiola insisted that aggressive approach was not a result of something coming down the tracks, rather a reaction to the struggles that have come before it. He also suggested that such a window was possible due to profitable sales on homegrown players like Cole Palmer and Liam Delap in recent years.
He added: "My words will not convince people," he said. "I know with this club it is always 'just about the money'. "But in the past five years, we are the last among the top six for net spend.
Even after what we have spent in this transfer window, we are away from Chelsea , (Manchester) United, Arsenal , Tottenham . Even from Liverpool . The only reason why is we sell a lot in the last seasons.
" City’s ongoing row with Premier League bosses intensified on Friday, after launching a new legal challenge over what they describe as ‘unlawful’ sponsorship rules. The club were defeated in November last year when the majority of top-flight sides voted in favour of changes to the Premier League's Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules following a legal challenge by City last summer. APT rules are in place to stop clubs from receiving huge amounts of money from companies which are affiliated to them.
Last year's independent tribunal found that the existing rules that were in place were unlawful, but City felt that the league had rushed through the case in order to satisfy some of their rivals. City only received the backing of three other Premier League clubs in the vote, but a new report from The Times says the club's lawyers have now informed the league that they are seeking another arbitration on the matter. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content.
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