In a move which shocked the footballing world, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) decided to ban Premier League side Manchester City from European club competitions for two years for breaching financial fair play regulations. The ban will come into effect for the 2020-2021 season and the 2021-2022 season of the Champions League.
What now for the team? City has decided to appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), but there is a very real possibility that they could face further sanctions from the Premier League as well.
City should brace themselves for any possibility. Right from Guardiola leaving the club to world-class players refusing to join the club due to their inability to perform in the Champions League. It is also possible that some players may take flight from the club in search of European football.
After previously maintaining that he would stay at the club until his contract expires in 2021, Guardiola may look towards greener pastures in hopes to win the Champions League, a trophy which has eluded him in his four years at the Manchester club. Guardiola has heralded a new era of winning mentality and world-beaters in the squad. It will be a major task for the club to keep ahold of arguably their best manager until they are eligible for European football in 2023.
This season’s ‘invincible’ Liverpool’s run-of-form, while proving their brilliance, also proves Manchester City’s inability to control a game as they have done before. This has shown their weak side and has prompted suggestions of a necessary squad overhaul in the summer. The recent ban on them diminishes the chances of the club grabbing a superstar in the transfer window owing to their inability to play in the Champions League. Transfer-targets like Jadon Sancho, Ben Chilwell and Kalidou Koulibaly will think twice before joining the club.
With fewer players joining the club, City also faces the ever-present danger of their stars leaving the club. It remains to be seen if the club’s magnificent forward, Sergio Aguero, remains beyond his current deal, which is set to end in 2021. Old-timer David Silva is also set to leave at the end of this season. The glorious duo of Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling may have their eyes set somewhere else, where they have access to guaranteed European football.
This UEFA-ban may very well spell doom for Guardiola’s perfectly constructed side and end their recently-established dominance in English football.
