Legendary Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has proposed a groundbreaking punishment for Manchester City following a guilty verdict in their financial breach case. The Dane believes the club should begin each of the next five Premier League seasons on minus 25 points.
An independent commission has found City guilty on 114 counts of financial misconduct, concluding that from 2009 to 2018, the club exaggerated their income by over £900 million through fraudulent sponsorship agreements.
Despite this, Manchester City have consistently denied any wrongdoing and on October 2, lodged an appeal. A final ruling has yet to be made, and potential sanctions remain undetermined.
Following Enzo Maresca's side's 3-0 victory against Liverpool, Schmeichel articulated his views during a segment on Viaplay.
The former goalkeeper stated:
I think Manchester City should remain in the Premier League. But in each of the next five seasons, they should start the league campaign on minus 25 points.
This would serve as a reminder to everyone else: if you break the rules and deceive other clubs, the consequences must be severe.
In total, Schmeichel's proposal could see City deducted 125 points over five years.
But he didn't stop there — he also called for a ban on City registering new players and imposed fines on club officials.
Schmeichel continued:
It’s crucial to impose a five-year transfer ban and to levy a significant financial penalty.
Moreover, the owners should be forced to sell the club. In my opinion, they are not suited to run this team or any football club in England.
Anyone involved in the breaches should also be banned from working in football.
Interestingly, Schmeichel does not deem it essential to strip Manchester City of their titles won during the period of alleged rule-breaking.
He added:
Titles can either be taken away or left with the club. I don’t think it matters much either way.
However, former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam disagrees. The Dutchman believes that taking trophies away should indeed form part of the punishment.
Stam remarked:
I think they should lose their championship titles, as they were won while breaking the rules.
But I completely agree with Peter regarding the need for the club to face punishment.
It’s vital that the Premier League demonstrates to everyone that such actions can never be allowed to happen again.
The discussion surrounding sanctions gained traction following Manchester City’s win at Anfield, where they secured a decisive victory over Liverpool, thanks to goals from Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, and Ryan Cherki, capitalising on Ryan Gravenberch's dismissal in the second half.
This result maintained City's perfect winning record and extended their lead over Arsenal to three points.
Yet, the club's future remains uncertain. Should their appeal prove unsuccessful, the independent commission will need to decide on specific sanctions.
