Ex-Liverpool star calls for Manchester City to be relegated to fifth tier

An ex-Liverpool striker has called for Manchester City to be relegated to the National League amid their ongoing battle with their 115 financial charges.

City are currently facing charges from the Premier League, with more than 100 breaches of competition rules between 2009-10 and 2022-23.

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The counts will be heard by a three-person independent commission, which began on Monday, and the charges they face are; a failure to give “a true and fair view of the club’s financial position”; a failure to “include full details” of player and manager remuneration; breaches of national and continental financial fair play regulations; and a failure to “cooperate with, and assist, the Premier League in its investigations”.

These come from a Premier League statement made in February 2023.

Stan Collymore’s message to City

Stan Collymore joined Liverpool for a then British transfer record of £8.5m in 1995. The striker got 35 goals and 17 assists for the Reds, and has spoken out about City’s charges in a recent column for CaughtOffside.

Collymore wrote: “My bar on whether Man City beat the charges against them is set very low because when you are employing best-in-class lawyers, who are finding out every single part of law, that’s an obvious advantage.

“It’s the red tape, it’s the ‘you didn’t file this before midday’ or a ‘paragraph that includes a sentence that we consider factually incorrect, so we want the whole document struck out.’

“If they are found guilty they should be starting, in my opinion, in the National League.”

Relegation sends 'strongest possible message'

Collymore believes that expulsion to the fifth tier of English football 'sends out the strongest possible message' and that some of the other suggested punishments are unlikely to have a long-term impact on the club. The potential punishments being mentioned are fines, the docking of points and a suspension and the biggest of expulsion from the competition.

He added: “Getting relegated to the Championship and having two or three windows where they’re not allowed to compete in the transfer market isn’t likely to see any of their big names leave.

“If we look back in 10 years and see City have dropped down one division whilst winning 15 trophies, the owners of other big clubs are likely to think that’s a risk worth taking.”

Both sides are now going to make legal representations in a trial that is set to last months, before the independent commission goes away and makes a decision.