Liverpool Champions League hope boosted as Manchester City may be ban for 2 season for breach of financial fair play by EUFA and EPL

As Man City celebrate their fifth Premier League title in six seasons, the charges hang over them. Liverpool and the others will have to wait a long time for the result.

Blood Red: How Manchester City’s financial lapses could impact Liverpool and Premier League rivals

Just a day after UEFA confirmed they were investigating Manchester City for alleged Financial Fair Play breaches, the Premier League made a similar announcement. It was March 8, 2019.

UEFA have since delivered their verdict, banning Manchester City from the Champions League for two seasons and overturning that verdict at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. By contrast, the Premier League only lodged a complaint in February this year after a four-year investigation.

Meanwhile, Manchester City have won four out of a possible five titles. Liverpool won the other title, while Jurgen Klopp were just a single point clear of Pep Guardiola’s men on two other occasions.

With the recent celebrations, which for the first time saw actual indictments (115 to be exact) rather than mere investigations, one gets the feeling that everyone would welcome a resolution to the situation in one way or another. other. In fact, The Independent claim the Premier League rivals are “furious” at the time the league is taking to resolve these issues.

It’s not just Manchester City. Across Stanley Park, Liverpool’s arch-rivals Everton have been referred to an independent commission over possible breaches of profit and sustainability rules. The favorite to narrowly avoid relegation on the final day of play is the second straight season the Toffees have been in a relegation battle. The immediate competitors will inevitably be annoyed that there is no verdict.

When the allegations against a team are proven, every season they can play without sanction is another injustice. In this campaign, for example, Arsenal, Leeds United and Leicester would certainly feel the most affected if close rivals were found to have cheated.

Likewise, a quick fix should also be in Manchester City’s best interest. If Sheikh Mansour’s team successfully defends the allegations, they will be saddened that so many of their triumphs have been starred by many, given the current debate on the subject.

However, there is no realistic prospect that this issue will be resolved any time soon. After consulting with legal experts, City AM concluded that it would likely drag on until at least 2025 and possibly even 2027.

From Manchester City’s perspective, that means an unintended skepticism about all their previous successes. For players like Liverpool, that means they must continue to find ways to take on Guardiola’s juggernaut, whether reasonably put together or not – knowing that the prospect of subsequent title wins if an attack is spotted is far.

Even for the Premier League itself, it doesn’t look good. At the same time, they attack Manchester City and proclaim them one of the greatest teams of all time, handing out the latest title with the usual pomp and ceremony. All in all, it’s a huge mess and has left the biggest league in the world virtually in limbo.

That’s not to say the Premier League position isn’t deserving of sympathy. He knows the stakes are high for everyone involved: Manchester City, Everton and all of those teams’ rivals. The CAS case noted that the seriousness of the allegations required “particularly conclusive” evidence, which could hurt various sponsors and individuals as well as clubs. This must be done carefully.

But you can’t blame Premier League clubs for their ‘anger’. The longer cases like Manchester City remain unresolved, the more the division loses its competitive legitimacy, and that is in no one’s interest.

Also. 

Liverpool ‘complete’ Jurgen Klopp’s $76m transfer as Steven Gerrard’s plan comes to fruition

Liverpool’s first transfer leg could be ‘closed and sealed’ by next month if everything is in place. Jurgen Klopp is back on track with a plan from Steven Gerrard.

Liverpool are about to officially destroy their Champions League dream. In the end, it was too late for Jurgen Klopp’s side and they are now gearing up for their first Europa League season since 2015/16.

It is positive that the transfer planning can now really accelerate. Even without a sporting director, plans have no doubt already been made in the background, but Klopp can now devote himself fully to the question of recruitment – hopefully soon alongside Jörg Schmadtke, whose appointment is expected in the course of next week (according to The Times).

Meanwhile, Klopp knows he can also find certain solutions from within his existing squad. The emergence of Curtis Jones, for instance, has been a major help over the past few weeks, and could help the manager pick up a Steven Gerrard plan that has long since been dormant.

Here are the two Liverpool.com stories from today that you shouldn’t miss.

$76m transfer ‘complete’

Links between Alexis Mac Allister and Liverpool are increasingly vociferous, and it seems a deal could now be all but done.

Argentine outlet TyC Sports (via Sport Witness) has gone as far as to declare the deal complete. And in the latest update, Fabrizio Romano has given a similarly sunny outlook:

“Liverpool wants to resolve the final details of Alexis Mac Allister deal as soon as possible to avoid competition; full agreement on personal terms is really close. Mac Allister’s plan is to leave Brighton early in the window, and the move could be done and sealed in June.”

Read the full story from Matt Addison here, which also contains an update on a Nigerian wonderkid.

Liverpool to unleash Steven Gerrard plan

Liverpool may never fully replace the talismanic presence of Gerrard. But that has not stopped the club from repeatedly trying in the years since he left.

Naby Keïta was handed the number eight shirt, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain arrived to play in midfield off the back of declaring his admiration for Gerrard. At Anfield last weekend, Liverpool said goodbye to both.

With Keïta, in particular, the plan was to acquire a midfielder who could do it all. While Gerrard set an impossibly high bar, the periods in which the Guinean has been fit have at least shown his all-action abilities. And in the last 10 games, Jones has proved to Klopp he can fulfill the same role.

Nobody is arguing he will be the next Gerrard, but he can at least be a more than adequate replacement for the last attempt at replicating the legend’s qualities, as Klopp continues to seek a player in that mold for his midfield.