Even the most glass-half-empty supporter would be hard pressed to come up with a Manchester City performance better than what we saw against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
08.04.2022 - 13:37 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Manchester City are awaiting the outcome of the ongoing Premier League investigation into Financial Fair Play (FFP) as some claims against them were regurgitated by a German news outlet ahead of the Premier League heavyweight clash with Liverpool.
The Premier League opened a probe into the Blues in 2019 regarding academy player recruitment and third-party ownership on the back of UEFA taking on the club over-inflated sponsorship deals. City were initially banned from the Champions League for two years but an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was overturned and the only money that had to be paid - €10m down from €30m - was for failing to co-operate with UEFA.
The FA also looked into City's signing of a 14-year-old Jadon Sancho but found no evidence to support the claim made by German magazine Der Spiegel. While those matters were settled relatively quickly, the Premier League investigation has dragged and has still not concluded more than three years after starting; last year a judge expressed surprise at 'how little progress had been made'.
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Pep Guardiola's side have kicked on since the club were cleared and vindicated at CAS, and can take a giant leap towards a fourth league title in five years when they take on Liverpool on Sunday in a top-of-the-table clash. City are one point ahead of Jurgen Klopp's team with eight games to go.
Ahead of the match, Der Spiegel has fanned the flames of controversy once more with claims that City made illegal payments to underage players and more suggestions that the club inflated sponsorship deals. City believe the allegations to be a continuation of previous FFP allegations that are
Even the most glass-half-empty supporter would be hard pressed to come up with a Manchester City performance better than what we saw against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
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