B2 Reading: Guilty, Is This the End of Man City's Golden Era?
Read the article about Manchester City and fill in the gaps.
For more than a decade, Manchester City have been the force in English football. Since the Abu Dhabi United Group, owned by Sheikh Mansour, bought the club in 2008, City have won the Premier League title again and again, most of them under Pep Guardiola. Now, that success is under a dark cloud.
In February 2023, the Premier League City with 115 breaches of its financial rules between 2009 and 2018. The league the club of disguising money from its owner as sponsorship income, hiding payments to players and a manager, and failing to cooperate with the . The case began after leaked internal documents were published by a German news magazine in 2018.
An independent commission then spent years examining the evidence. On 25 September 2026, reports said that it had found City guilty of 114 of the 115 charges. City strongly any wrongdoing. The club's chief executive said the decision was based on a conspiracy theory, and City have launched an , which must be decided by the end of January.
The big question now is the punishment. The possibilities include a huge fine, a transfer ban, or a points so large that the club would be to the Championship. City could even lose past titles, something that has never happened in the history of England's top division. Rival clubs say the punishment must be severe enough to stop other clubs doing the same; City's supporters insist the club has been treated unfairly.
Meanwhile, life on the pitch goes on. Guardiola left in the summer, and his successor, Enzo Maresca, has kept the team near the top of the table. But the uncertainty is affecting everyone, and there is speculation that stars such as Erling Haaland could leave if the club goes down.
Whatever the final outcome, the case raises wider questions about money in football. Can clubs owned by states or billionaires on equal terms with everyone else? And if a team breaks the rules while winning trophies, can its achievements ever be fully ? For many fans, the of the Premier League itself is now in question.
In February 2023, the Premier League City with 115 breaches of its financial rules between 2009 and 2018. The league the club of disguising money from its owner as sponsorship income, hiding payments to players and a manager, and failing to cooperate with the . The case began after leaked internal documents were published by a German news magazine in 2018.
An independent commission then spent years examining the evidence. On 25 September 2026, reports said that it had found City guilty of 114 of the 115 charges. City strongly any wrongdoing. The club's chief executive said the decision was based on a conspiracy theory, and City have launched an , which must be decided by the end of January.
The big question now is the punishment. The possibilities include a huge fine, a transfer ban, or a points so large that the club would be to the Championship. City could even lose past titles, something that has never happened in the history of England's top division. Rival clubs say the punishment must be severe enough to stop other clubs doing the same; City's supporters insist the club has been treated unfairly.
Meanwhile, life on the pitch goes on. Guardiola left in the summer, and his successor, Enzo Maresca, has kept the team near the top of the table. But the uncertainty is affecting everyone, and there is speculation that stars such as Erling Haaland could leave if the club goes down.
Whatever the final outcome, the case raises wider questions about money in football. Can clubs owned by states or billionaires on equal terms with everyone else? And if a team breaks the rules while winning trophies, can its achievements ever be fully ? For many fans, the of the Premier League itself is now in question.