Premier League Winners’ two-year Prohibit from Europe handed out by UEFA prompted Concerns about short-term futures in key Regions
UEFA’s decision to prohibit Manchester City in the Champions League for 2 years sent shockwaves throughout the soccer world as it was announced on Friday.
The team are angry about the verdict handed out from the Adjudicatory Chamber of the Club Financial Control Body which concluded that City were guilty of”serious breaches” of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
City will appeal the decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and are convinced that the judgment will be overturned. However, the ban prompted immediate questions regarding the short-term future of this club and its employees.
The City boss was facing questions about his potential before UEFA’s announcement, with speculation that Juventus could attempt to lure him to Italy.
Guardiola has a contract until 2021 and has insisted that he was”100 percent remaining” to see his deal out. The 49-year-old has told friends that he remains committed to the club even if City fail to win their appeal.
However, that would indicate that this year would be his final effort to win the Champions League with City – starting with the round of 16 clash with Real Madrid after the month.
David Silva has already signaled he will depart at the end of the year while winger Leroy Sane stays a long-term goal for Bayern Munich.
The remainder of the squad were told by chief executive officer Ferran Soriano in a team meeting the day after the news of the ban which the club are convinced that they will succeed in overturning it.
Raheem Sterling, that has been linked with Real Madrid, has pledged his future into the club while others are thought to be committed while the appeal goes through.
However, it would be difficult if the appeal were to be ineffective with many players’ contracts including European bonuses, while the possibility of missing out on Champions League football would be a massive blow.
City does have no sponsorship deals determined by Champions League involvement though they would lose out on the chance of nominal increments based on achievement, sources have told.
The club boast near 50 regional and global partners and contracts remain the same regardless of participation in European tournaments.
The City Football Group began a 10-year deal with Puma in the summer worth around #65m ($85m/$78m) annually. That would be unaffected if they were to lose out on the Champions League, unlike other clubs like Manchester United, who miss out on 20m ($26m/$24m) from Adidas should they don’t qualify for two successive seasons.
A reduction of European prize money could be a larger impact. City earned more than #80m ($104m/$96m) when they reached the quarter-finals last year while Liverpool made #110m ($143m/$132m) for winning the Champions League. With prize money climbing again, if the two-year ban is upheld then City could overlook approximately #200m ($260m/$241m) with gate receipts in addition to that.
City’s punishment also contained a #30m ($39m/$36m) fine.
Club sources insist that it is business as usual. Guardiola and director of soccer Txiki Begiristain had already determined that they had to bring several new faces and the club likes to work quickly to identify goals.
There’s absolutely not any timescale on how long an appeal will take although it’s very likely that all parties would want the situation sorted before Champions League qualification matches start in July.
It’s been advised that City have spoken to many agents to attempt and clarify their position over the appeal procedure. But it would be clear if any possible goal was to hang off committing themselves to a move until CAS delivers its verdict.
The Premier League has its own FFP-style regulations and started its own investigation into City in March.
It’s not yet commented on the investigation, although new chief executive Richard Pros affirmed it’s ongoing.
Any possible punishment like a points reduction won’t be confirmed until their particular investigation is concluded.
