Premier League executives are already wary of the commercial hit that could follow a Manchester City expulsion. One senior club source told football365.com that if City were removed, it would have "massive commercial consequences for everyone in the league" and cost other clubs "an awful lot of money". City were found guilty on all charges related to breaches of financial regulations over a nine-year period, and Football365 says the alleged sham contracts were used to inflate revenues and reduce costs by over £900m.

The vote clubs are weighing

Football365 says any expulsion would need 15 of the 20 Premier League clubs to vote in favour. Express, though, says the figure would be 15 of the 19 other clubs. Either way, the threshold is high, and one unnamed source called expulsion "a risk not worth taking".

The commercial concern is easy to understand when Manchester City are also top of the Premier League on 15 points from 5 matches. They have won their last five league games, and Erling Haaland has already scored 5 Premier League goals. That combination makes City a major draw on and off the pitch, which is why some clubs are already thinking past the punishment itself.

The pyramid argument

A Championship executive speaking to express.co.uk took a wider view, saying whoever decides on City sanctions must uphold "the integrity of the whole English football pyramid" and not just think about the Premier League. He also said it should not be automatic for City to drop into the Championship if they were expelled, adding that they would have to earn their way back up English football.

That leaves the dispute in a fairly blunt place. The independent panel has already found City guilty, but the strongest sanction still carries a vote threshold and a commercial cost that rival executives clearly do not want to ignore. The commission's ruling has not been published yet, so the argument now sits with the clubs and the scale of the sanction they would be willing to back.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →