Premier League club executive: Manchester City should go to the Championship【yanting】

This summer, TA interviewed a number of current or former Premier League owners and executives, asking them about Manchester City's financial irregularities.

TA said some were tired of the decade-long legal battle against City and feared the City case could end up with a financial settlement rather than sporting penalties. Some executives at Manchester City's rival clubs have dismissed such an outcome as impossible and utterly outrageous, saying it would sound the death knell for the financial sustainability of not only English football but European football as a whole.

One Premier League executive said: "The general view I have heard is that the appropriate penalty would be a points deduction, big enough - we're talking 70 to 80 points - to guarantee Manchester City a season in the Championship."

Another leading sporting figure suggested the punishment should be more creative, with City being docked a significant number of points in each of the next three seasons, meaning their chances of qualifying for the Champions League would be severely limited. Another compared City's case to that of English Rugby Union side Saracen, who were deducted 35 points when they won the title in 2019, fined £5.36m and relegated to the second division for not complying with the league's salary cap rules.

One coach who has played against City has already found them guilty of failing to follow the same discipline as their rivals when it comes to success. But he suspects it is too late to really solve the problem.

At the same time, there are fears that failure to convict and punish City would raise major questions about the Premier League's ability to police itself, especially as an independent regulator will still be in place next year. Many club executives say that if the Premier League can't do anything about City, their incentive to continue playing by the rules will be greatly diminished.