Three years later, Manchester City’s case is still hanging over English football like a dark cloud. What was supposed to be a clear legal process with a set timeline has turned into one of the most damaging and drawn-out episodes in Premier League history.
The 115 financial charges against City — some say the real number is closer to 130 — have gone beyond a legal issue. It has become a full-blown crisis affecting the entire league, not just one club.
When the Premier League announced the charges in February 2023, it shocked the football world. Everyone expected a long legal fight, but few imagined that years later there would still be no clear outcome, no transparency, and no end in sight.
Since then, it has been a cycle of court hearings, legal arguments, rumors, false deadlines, and endless speculation. Frustration has grown.
Trust in the Premier League’s ability to handle such a huge case has weakened. And with every passing day without a decision, the league’s reputation takes another hit.
This situation affects more than just Manchester City. Rival clubs, players, managers, and fans are all left wondering whether the competition has been fair. Football depends on trust. When that trust starts to crack, everything around it suffers.
Throughout it all, Manchester City have carried on as normal. The club has strongly denied any wrongdoing from the start.
Pep Guardiola has backed the club publicly and repeatedly said he believes they will be cleared. On the pitch, City have continued to win trophies and play outstanding football, building a case as one of the greatest Premier League teams ever.
But every success comes with a shadow. Every trophy is followed by reminders that the case is still unresolved. That uncertainty feels unfair — to the players, to Guardiola, and even to the fans.
At the same time, no one knows what the outcome could be. Could City be found guilty? Cleared completely? Could there be points deductions, heavy fines, or even relegation? Or nothing at all? The lack of answers has created a toxic atmosphere.
Imagine if City narrowly beat Arsenal to the title this season, only for points to be deducted years later and the trophy handed over after the fact. That would satisfy no one. Titles should be decided on the pitch, not in courtrooms long after the final whistle.
The same questions hang over previous seasons, including those dramatic title races with Liverpool. If punishments are eventually applied for issues that date back more than a decade — some even before Guardiola arrived — what would that really achieve now? Is that fair to current players and staff who had nothing to do with those periods?
The long delay is a major problem. So much has changed in three years — squads, managers, tactics. The longer it drags on, the more disconnected the allegations feel from the present day.
Many fans now believe that if the charges were truly strong, the case would not be taking this long. Whether that belief is right or wrong, it shows how much trust has already been damaged.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has suggested the Premier League may have made things harder by bringing so many charges at once.
By trying to cover everything instead of focusing on the strongest claims, the league may have guaranteed a long and complicated legal battle. More charges mean more evidence, more hearings, and more delays.
Normally, the Premier League aims to resolve cases within a season. Yet even simpler cases, like Leicester City’s PSR issue, have dragged on. That single case produced a document over 100 pages long. City’s case involves over 100 allegations. The scale is enormous.
Once the charges were filed, an independent commission took control. From then on, both the Premier League and City had limited influence. Lawyers, paperwork, and detailed hearings have dominated the process. Legal matters are often slow — but this feels extreme.
Over the years, there have been many predictions about when a verdict would arrive. International breaks. Summer. October. Christmas. Nothing has happened. Fans wait. Journalists prepare stories that never get published. The silence continues.
The idea that such a massive decision could be timed to fit media schedules is unrealistic. This is one of the biggest cases in football history. Treating it like routine news only highlights how strange the situation has become.
At this stage, the case has almost faded into background noise. City continue signing players who do not seem worried. Why would they be? There has been no punishment and no visible urgency. The uncertainty has simply become normal — and that in itself is a problem.
There have been small moments that sparked speculation. Some club executives who were previously vocal about City’s situation have since left their roles. That led to more rumors. But again, no clear answers.
Some reports suggest City believe the worst possible outcome might only be a financial penalty. If that turns out to be true, many will question why the process took so long and caused so much disruption. But for now, it is all speculation.
Pep Guardiola is perhaps the most affected individual figure. Many see him as the greatest manager in Premier League history.
His teams have changed English football and set new standards. Yet every trophy he wins comes with a question mark because of unresolved allegations, many from before he even joined the club. That feels unfair.
Rival clubs also deserve clarity. Arsenal, Liverpool, and others have invested heavily and competed within the rules as they understand them. They deserve to know whether the playing field has been level.
Fans, however, may be the biggest victims. Football should be simple — winning, losing, celebrating, suffering. Instead, this case has filled everything with doubt. Every result is debated. Every trophy is questioned. The joy has been reduced.
The Premier League promotes itself as the best and most competitive league in the world. But allowing its biggest investigation ever to drag on for years exposes serious weaknesses in its system.
Eventually, responsibility must be taken. Either the league should not have started such a huge case without a clear path to a timely conclusion, or the entire process needs reform. Three years is far too long.
This is not about wanting City punished or cleared. It is about wanting a decision. Football needs closure. Manchester City need closure. Their rivals need closure. Fans need closure.
Right now, the ongoing case is causing more harm than good. It hangs over every title race, fuels constant arguments, and damages trust in the league’s leadership.
English football deserves better than endless uncertainty. If the charges are proven, act on them. If they are not, clear the club and move forward. What exists now — doubt, suspicion, and silence — is the worst possible outcome.
After three years, it should never have reached this point. The Premier League must find a way to bring this to an end. Until it does, the stain remains, and confidence in the game continues to fade.
