Football fans woke up on Saturday morning to learn about Manchester City’s ban from participating in UEFA club competitions in the next two seasons (2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons) while also paying a fine of € 30 million (£24.9million).
National Daily gathered that the above came as a disciplinary measure by the Adjudicatory Chamber who found City guilty of committing serious breaches of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations by overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to UEFA between 2012 and 2016.
The 2018/2019 EPL champions have been banned from UEFA club competitions for the next two years
The defending Premier League champions were also adjudged guilty of failing to cooperate in the investigation of this case by the CFCB National Daily further learnt.
While Manchester City fans are busy lamenting the frustration that comes with ban meanwhile, Barcelona fans are celebrating the situation as the occasion could finally see a return of Pep Guardiola to Camp Nou as their manager.
Recall that Guardiola recently claimed that he could be sacked by Manchester City if he fails to lead them to Champions League success this season.
Strangely, it is UEFA who may ultimately have sealed Guardiola’s fate with this latest ban which comes as a savage blow to the reputation of the world’s richest club.
Manchester City ban could force Guardiola back to Barcelona
Expectedly, City’s bigger fear and worry is not just the ban, but the fate of Guardiola’s future who is already wanted by Europe’s top clubs.
Remember that Guardiola was brought to City to deliver the Champions League and, after leading them to back-to-back league titles with record-breaking totals, conquering Europe was the next step for the Blue side of Manchester.
But the above ambition could be in ruins, unless Guardiola can manage to deliver the Champions League this season, before their ban commences.
Another cause of worry for City is that the ban could also end up ripping apart their double Premier League title-winning squad, with many players ready to move elsewhere to enable them to play at the highest level in Europe.
City could fear the possible rip apart of their double Premier League title-winning squad
Barcelona fans could be licking their fingers in anticipation of a reunion with their former manager with UEFA’s seismic decision which may have provided Guardiola with the perfect exit strategy, despite his perceived loyalty to City and those who run the club.