EXCLUSIVE: Man City face 'death spiral' fire sale if they are relegated

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FT Desk

Manchester City face an unprecedented fire sale should they be forced to drop down to the English Championship from the Premier League.

Last week, the football world was rocked when the Premier League announced that City had been found guilty of 114 financial breaches between 2009 and 2018.

The Premier League alleged that City misrepresented their finances so the club appeared to comply with financial regulations. The charges included allegations that some sponsorship agreements were effectively “sham” deals, with money from the club’s Abu Dhabi ownership being used behind the scenes, allowing City to report more commercial revenue and lower costs than the Premier League says were genuine.

The league also alleged that City submitted inaccurate financial accounts and breached UEFA financial rules, while some of the more egregious charges concerned the club's inability or lack of desire to comply with the investigation.

Their punishment has not been confirmed, but fines, a transfer ban and relegation are all possibilities.

And, should they be kicked out of the league, there will likely be an exodus of star players not keen on dropping down a division.

"Which players want to stay with Manchester City as a Championship club no longer in the Champions League?" Nick Harris, who has been investigating City's finances since 2011, asked on The Transfers Podcast.

"Quite a lot probably won’t.

"Anyone who thinks that many, if any, of the Manchester City squad are there because they love Manchester needs to give their head a wobble.

"Phil Foden, definitely. A Manchester boy, boyhood club and some of the other young kids.

"But, Erling Haaland? £25 million a year, basic [salary].

"The idea the players will want to stay playing in the Championship for the love of Manchester City is nonsense. Manchester City can’t afford to keep the vast majority of their squad if they went to the Championship."

“Abu Dhabi Manchester City has to be removed from the whole league system”

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Even if some players do want to stay, they likely won't be able to as Man City will need to cut their exorbitant wage bill by a tenth if they play in the Championship in order to comply with Football League rules.

"They’ve got a £400m-a-year wage bill at the moment, maybe slightly higher," Harris continued.

"You go into the Championship with a £400m wage bill, you immediately fall massively foul of Football League PSR (Profit and Sustainability) rules and FFP (Financial Fair Play) rules.

"And so, they are going to have to get rid of most of their players to even meet the wage requirements.

"And, do they go into a death spiral where they offload all their players and they have a wage bill of only 30 or 40 million quid, which is what Championship clubs do, and do they then fall down to the third division like they did a couple of decades ago?"

Haaland is the player that would likely fetch the biggest transfer fee should City be forced to sell him, and after the news of the charges broke, he was immediately linked with Barcelona and Real Madrid, with Arsenal also emerging as a surprise contender for his signature.

The investigation into City's finances has been going on for years but that still hasn't stopped them from splashing the cash.

In the summer of 2026 alone, they spent over £440m on Enzo Fernandez, Elliot Anderson, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Iliman Ndiaye, Allan, Mathys Detourbet, Jeremy Monga, Pierce Charles and Geronimo Rulli.