With the UK officially leaving Brexit last month, it didn't take Manchester City long to follow suit. The shocking news that stunned football fans all around the world broke earlier this week when it was announced that six times Premier League champions, Manchester City, would be banned from all European competitions for two seasons.
UEFA released a statement on Friday confirming Manchester City's two year ban along with a €30 million fine. The decision is now up to the Court of Arbitration for Sport as City have appealed this ban.
The majority of fans were astounded when UEFA announced the news. Over the past years clubs have found ways to get around the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules and regulations; Paris Saint Germain managed to 'cooperate' their way out of any punishment early last year after they spent over $400 million on Mbappe and Neymar in the same transfer window. However, more recently former European giants AC Milan were handed a one-year ban from all European competitions due to a breach in FFP rules.
Is Aguero going to break his promise?
Back in 2014, City hero Sergio Aguero vowed to stay at the club until they won the Champions League. Having been unsuccessful thus far, is this the last season City's all time leading goalscorer will have the chance to win it with the Cityzens? Will arguably one of the greatest Premier League strikers of all time want to play for a team with no European football for the next two seasons? The news of this ban could lure Aguero back to his former club Atlético Madrid in the summer.
Crisis Meetings Underway
Players and staff at City have been rushed into an emergency meeting to walk them through the next steps following the two year ban. The City board and fans must be panicking that they could lose some of their world class players in the upcoming transfer window. Following this meeting City fans must be worrying about the future of their star players... rumours of Leroy Sane joining Bayern Munich in the last window were circulating but has this ban almost pushed this transfer through? Will one of the best centre midfielders of the Premier League era, Kevin De Bruyne move elsewhere? Bernardo Silva publicly admitted in the summer that he still had unfinished business at former club Benfica, will the European ban open a move to his childhood club?
What's next for City?
The next few weeks and months are crucial for the future of Manchester City, especially with the open Premier League case which could result in a points deduction in the league. Their main focus will be persuading their key players and more importantly can they keep Pep Guardiola at club? The City job should in theory attract almost every football manager in the world, but without the European factor at the club the manager, who potentially takes over for Pep, would have to be there for the long-run.
Could we be witnessing the slow demise of one of the biggest Premier League teams of all time? Surely not, but as for their European status it is left in the hands of the Court of Arbitrations for Sport. Who knows what the future holds for Manchester City