After 4 rounds of the Premier League, the defending champion Manchester City won all 4 games and led the Premier League standings alone.
The fifth consecutive Premier League title is beckoning Manchester City, but it is destined to be difficult - in the history of the five major leagues, only England has not had a team complete the feat of five consecutive top-flight titles - the current Premier League, the former League One.
However, before they can achieve a fifth consecutive Premier League title, City have one more important battle to win. On September 16, the Premier League's official hearing on Manchester City's 115 financial irregularities was held, which is a matter of life and death.
115 financial breaches, a conclusive allegation made by the Premier League's Independent Commission of Inquiry over a period of three years, specifically: 54 alleging that Manchester City failed to provide the Premier League with up-to-date financial information for the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons; 14 alleges that City failed to provide accurate financial reports on player and manager compensation for the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons. There were also five non-compliance with UEFA rules, including breaches of the Financial Fair Play policy from 2013/14 to 2017/18; 7 breaches of the Premier League's PSR rules between 2015/16 and 2017/18; and 35 failed to cooperate with the investigation between December 2018 and February 2023.
Counting the new accounts and the old accounts together, Manchester City is almost doomed. Once the charges are confirmed, City will face serious penalties, ranging from points deductions to relegation, and even expulsion from the Premier League.
However, the Premier League's Independent Commission of Inquiry into Manchester City began in 2019, and the vast majority of the city's 115 financial breaches were concentrated in the 2009/10 season, which is largely old. It is absurd to use a sustainability bill introduced in 2022 to adjudicate something more than 10 years ago, not to mention the fact that it also contains allegations of breach of UEFA financial fairness, which have already been dismissed by the International Commission for Arbitration for Sport.
It must be pointed out that the 115 financial irregularities allegations made by the Premier League's independent investigators against Manchester City, except for the 35 that did not cooperate with the investigation, the remaining 80 were half from the media and hackers, and half from the speculation of the independent investigation committee......
To put it bluntly, the evidence in the hands of the Premier League's independent investigation committee is either uncharted or subjective, and there is not much real evidence. It's really hard to get Manchester City's charges to justice.
That's why the hearing, dubbed the "Trial of the Century" by the media, was held in secrecy and lasted for 10 weeks. After Leicester City's appeal was successful, the Premier League officials were also very cautious, after all, Manchester City's financial resources and influence are greater, and if they are not careful, they will suffer backlash and become a big joke.
Therefore, this is why Manchester City officials have been full of confidence so far, firmly believing that the club will win this "trial of the century". In addition to conclusive evidence that can prove his innocence, Manchester City also hired a team of lawyers led by Europe's top lawyer Pannick, who helped Manchester City win the European ban lawsuit.
Pannick is not cheap, he earns a whopping £5,000 an hour, and the 10-week hearing is worth tens of millions of pounds. Furthermore, Manchester City is ready to fight a long game, as early as June, Manchester City had filed a counterclaim against the Premier League's related party transaction rules.
Frankly speaking, the purpose of the Premier League's official accusations against Manchester City is not pure, and the final result is likely to be a concession and a fine for Manchester City. This is the game of capital, and there is no need to be shy.