According to recent reports, insiders have stated that there is €220 million (£198 million) on the line for Manchester City regarding the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s upcoming verdict involving the club.
Following Manchester City’s two-year ban from European football and a €30 million (£27 million) fine – imposed by UEFA after they found that City had broken financial fair play rules, as well as ‘seriously misleading’ the governing body in their investigations to the club – City appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the punishment of UEFA, the decision of which is set to be announced on 13 July.
And, recent reports in Het Belang van Limburg (via Sport Witness) have claimed that – should Manchester City’s two-year ban from being able to participate in European football competitions be upheld – agents of some of City’s stars ‘will start listening’ to offers from other clubs.
One of the players mentioned in the report is Kevin De Bruyne, with the reports stating that the 29-year-old ‘doesn’t want to waste years of his career without featuring in European club competition’.
In addition to this, the reports state that insiders have claimed that City will miss out on a figure of around €220 million (£198 million) should their ban be upheld by CAS.
TIF Thoughts…
While the figure that City are quoted to miss out on should they fail to overturn their ban is indeed eye-watering, the suggestion that agents of players will be listening to offers from other clubs in that circumstance is less so.
Taking the aforementioned De Bruyne as an example, the 29-year-old has been the stand out performer in the Premier League this season – scoring 11 goals and providing 17 assists in the competition, averaging a remarkable WhoScored match rating of 7.85, the highest in the league so far this term (stats correct prior to Wednesday’s Premier League fixtures) – and, as the report suggests, the player would not be happy about missing out on playing in the Champions League for two seasons.
Do you think Manchester City will overturn their European ban?
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As such, it would appear that there is a great deal riding on the verdict of CAS, and not just financially.