Jesse Marsch says Manchester City should be relegated over financial breaches

Canada head coach Jesse Marsch says Manchester City should receive severe punishment, including relegation, over alleged financial breaches that he believes were widely known across English football.

City were found guilty of serious financial rule breaches covering nine seasons between 2009-10 and 2017-18. The Premier League alleged the club had used sham commercial agreements to inflate revenue and understate costs by more than 900 million pounds.

Manchester City have denied the allegations, arguing that the independent commission’s ruling contained significant errors of law, principle and fact. The club has appealed against the decision.

Marsch, who managed Leeds United between 2022 and 2023, said the financial disparity between Premier League clubs was clear during his time in England.

“I think Man City should be punished severely. I think they should have to go down, and by the way, everyone knew about it. Everyone knew,” Marsch told The Guardian.

He pointed to the summer of 2022, when Leeds United sold Raphinha to Barcelona and Kalvin Phillips to Manchester City. Those deals meant Leeds were among the few clubs able to report a profit during that transfer window.

“That summer, us and Man City were the only teams that said we made money,” Marsch said.

“For us, we did make money, because we sold Raphinha, we sold Kalvin Phillips. We had a lot left over from what we bought.

“At the time, we weren’t in a position financially to not save. Our ownership didn’t have deep pockets. Whereas when Man City says this, I was literally like, ‘Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of joke?’”

Marsch also expressed doubt about the reported transfer fee paid by City for Erling Haaland, who joined from Borussia Dortmund during the same summer.

“When they said they got Erling Haaland for 52 million pounds, it’s like: ‘Yeah, OK, sure!’” Marsch said.

“So, I knew there were inconsistencies in it, but what can you do? You just put your arms in the air and go, ‘This is football.’”

Manchester City’s appeal will be heard privately by an independent three-member panel.

The possible sanctions include fines, points deductions and other sporting penalties. Relegation and the removal of titles are among the potential outcomes that have been discussed.

It remains uncertain whether any punishment would be imposed before the appeal process has concluded.