A former Manchester City captain has weighed in on the club’s ongoing Financial Fair Play (FFP) case, stating that relegation from the Premier League would be a “major surprise.”
Speculation continues to swirl around the reigning champions as they await a verdict on their long-running FFP saga. With at least 115 charges leveled against them, various potential punishments—including demotion from the top flight—have been widely discussed.
Ex-City skipper Richard Dunne is not convinced that Pep Guardiola will be working in the EFL next season, telling GOAL when speaking in association with William Hill Vegas: “I wouldn’t have thought so. Setting aside whether they are found guilty or not – if they were to be found guilty, the damage it would do to the Premier League, in terms of demoting Man City, would be too much. It all comes down to what the result is.
“But City are a superpower in the Premier League and a team that the Premier League needs and a team that the opposition wants in the league and to play against. It would be a major surprise if something like that was to happen to them.”
Pressed further on whether a big points deduction could be in the pipeline for City, which would place their Champions League qualification hopes under serious threat, Dunne added: “Yeah. What has gone previously has been fines and points deductions – for the clubs that have been found guilty of any breaches. It’s been that level of sanction.
“I would imagine that if man city it will be something along the lines of a fine or whatever. I don’t think it’s going to be a demotion. Maybe a transfer ban or something like that. It’s all speculation because the whole process has been too long and very secretive. Nobody really knows what anybody else is thinking.”