Jamie Carragher has warned Manchester City that winning a sensational Treble this season will be ‘worthless’ if they are found guilty of any of the 115 financial rule break charges lodged by the Premier League.
City took a giant step closer to winning three trophies in a single campaign after sealing their spot in the Champions League final last night, courtesy of a thumping 4-0 victory over Real Madrid in their semi-final second leg tie.
Pep Guardiola’s heavyweights are also on course to pip Arsenal to the top-flight title and will take on neighbours Manchester United in the FA Cup final on June 3.
However, lurking in the background of their achievements this year are the legal papers served by the Premier League in March. These announced charges over alleged financial rule breaches which may lead to a seismic punishment.
As reported by Mail Sport, City executives were left stunned after being notified of the charges, which relate in part to financial information regarding revenue, details of manager and player remuneration and profitability and sustainability.
Manchester City have been warned that winning the Treble this season may be ‘worthless’
Jamie Carragher mentioned the 115 financial rule breach charges lodged against the club
City could be hit with a points reduction or even expelled from the top-flight if found guilty (pictured: owner Sheikh Mansour, left, and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, right)
Should City be found guilty, they face a wide range of potential sanctions including a points deduction or even an unprecedented expulsion from the Premier League.
And Carragher believes this holds the potential to undermine the club’s success.
Taking to Twitter, City YouTuber Steven McInerney directed a message at Carragher, saying: ‘Champions League final. FA Cup final. One win to win the Premier League.
‘Smashed the goalscoring record. Reckon [Erling] Haaland chose the right team, hey @Carra23?’
In response, Carragher fired back, writing: ‘It looks like [it], Steven! You said for the first six months of the season you weren’t the same, so we have to ask why & one of the reasons we looked at was the role of Haaland, Steven, it’s our job!
‘Hopefully you don’t get a guilty with any of those 115 charges which will make it all worthless!’
The Premier League said that the alleged breaches were committed from September 2009 to the 2017-18 season and would be referred to an independent commission.
City YouTuber Steven McInerney tweeted Carragher with a dig over Erling Haaland’s signing
In response, Carragher insisted any action taken against City would undermine their success
City have continued to splash the cash but are awaiting the results of an independent probe
After the news of City’s charges broke, Carragher had reacted sarcastically, insisting it ‘can’t be right’ and joking that the club earn more commercial revenue than most.
He tweeted: ‘This can’t be right, Man City bring in more commercial revenue than Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Man Utd & Liverpool.’
City have vehemently defended their actions and said they ‘welcome’ the review. They also described the evidence supporting their position as ‘irrefutable’.
However, according to a former financial advisor for the club, City must be relegated from the top-flight if the charges related to the alleged breaches are proven.
Stefan Borson wrote on Twitter: ‘Alarmist or not, the sheer extent of the PL charges are at a level that IF found proven, must lead to relegation.’
Between the dates mentioned by the Premier League, a rampant City had won three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and three Carabao Cup trophies.
Between 2009-2018, City won three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and three Carabao Cups