Former Man City star calls for fines, points deductions and a transfer ban following guilty verdict

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FT Desk

Former Manchester City goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel believes that the club must receive heavy punishment after being found guilty of 114 financial breaches.

The Premier League has found Man City guilty of giving employees double payments as salary, inflating sponsorship revenue to enable them to spend freely in the transfer market and not cooperating with the investigation into their finances.

They were found to have boosted their income by over £900m thanks to "sham" sponsorships between 2009 and 2018.

Schmeichel, who won the treble with Manchester United in 1999 before later moving to City via Sporting CP and Aston Villa, wants a heavy fine, a points deduction for five years, a five-year transfer ban and the owners gone.

"I think, of course, you keep them in the Premier League," Schmeichel stated on Viaplay. "But for every year they’re in the Premier League, the next five years, they start on minus 25 points.

"It’s also staying as a reminder to everybody else that when you cheat in the Premier League, and if you cheat all the other clubs, it’s heavy. I think this is important: a transfer ban for five years and a big fine.

"And then I think the ownership should be forced to sell the club. I don’t think they’re fit to run this football club and they’re not fit to run a football club in England.

"Also, I think bans for everyone who has been in on this. They cannot operate in football. Take the titles away or let them keep the titles. I don’t think it matters one way or the other."

Man City played in their first match since being found guilty on Sunday and emerged comfortable 3-0 winners against Liverpool.

Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki all scored for the visitors at Anfield, though Enzo Maresca’s side were given a helping hand when Ryan Gravenberch saw red for Liverpool just after the hour mark after a second booking.

The club have appealed the charges by the Premier League and that appeal means that any punishment could be delayed into 2027.

Though the Premier League cannot outright kick City out of the league, they can enforce a heavy enough points deduction that would effectively confirm relegation into the Championship.

Even then, the English Football League would need to decide whether to accept them, as that competition is a separate sporting entity from the Premier League.