Manchester City players ‘called in for urgent talks with chief executive Ferran Soriano’ after news broke of their European ban with the future of Pep Guardiola’s squad in the balance

  • Manchester City have been banned from European competitions for two years
  • Premier League club deemed to have broken UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules
  • City may face sanction from the Premier League but will appeal UEFA’s  decision
  • Club officials scrambled to gather the players together for a crisis meeting

By Kieran Lynch For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Manchester City players were ordered to attend a meeting today with the club’s chief executive for crisis talks following the news of their Champions League ban. 

It was announced on Friday that the club would be banned from participating in European competitions for the next two seasons due to ‘serious breaches’ of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules.

According to the Telegraph, within an hour of the news, City officials got in touch with the players to call them in for a meeting with chief executive Ferran Soriano.  

Manchester City have been banned from the Champions League for the next two seasons

Text and WhatsApp messages were sent out within an hour of the news being broke, requesting the players to attend a meeting which was to be held on Saturday lunchtime.

The players were already due to return as they were to report back to training from their winter breaks.

It is believed that City wanted to gather the players so that Soriano could brief them on the club’s plans going forward after the news sent shockwaves through football.

The reigning English champions were deemed by UEFA to have broken FFP rules after being found guilty of falsely inflating their sponsorship revenues.

UEFA also said that City failed to co-operate with the investigation into the matter and fined the club £25m.

Manchester City released a statement after the bombshell saying they were ‘disappointed but not surprised by the decision from UEFA.

The news has sparked concern that Manchester City could lose out on their top players

The news has sparked concern that Manchester City could lose out on their top players

It has been reported that Pep Guardiola could look to leave the club if the ban is not overturned

It has been reported that Pep Guardiola could look to leave the club if the ban is not overturned

MANCHESTER CITY STATEMENT 

Manchester City is disappointed but not surprised by today’s (Friday’s) announcement by the UEFA Adjudicatory Chamber.

The Club has always anticipated the ultimate need to seek out an independent body and process to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence in support of its position.

In December 2018, the UEFA Chief Investigator publicly previewed the outcome and sanction he intended to be delivered to Manchester City, before any investigation had even begun.

The subsequent flawed and consistently leaked UEFA process he oversaw has meant that there was little doubt in the result that he would deliver. The Club has formally complained to the UEFA Disciplinary body, a complaint which was validated by a CAS ruling.

‘Simply put, this is a case initiated by UEFA, prosecuted by UEFA and judged by UEFA. With this prejudicial process now over, the Club will pursue an impartial judgment as quickly as possible and will therefore, in the first instance, commence proceedings with the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the earliest opportunity.’

City say they will appeal against the decision at the earliest opportunity via the Court of Arbitration for Sport. They accused UEFA of ‘initiating, prosecuting and judging’ the case and say they are not surprised at the outcome. 

The reigning Premier League champions could also face sanctions domestically from the Premier League with sources suggesting they may impose a points deduction.  

However, the Premier League may well decide to wait for the outcome of an appeal City have vowed to launch before deciding whether to take action of their own.  

UEFA launched a probe after documents published in German media suggested the club had falsely inflated sponsorship deals with firms linked to their Abu Dhabi ownership.

A UEFA statement said: ‘The Adjudicatory Chamber has imposed disciplinary measures on Manchester City Football Club directing that it shall be excluded from participation in UEFA club competitions in the next two seasons (ie. the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons) and pay a fine of €30million.’

Pep Guardiola will reportedly consider his future at the club if the ban is not overturned. 

Guardiola is now odds on to leave City before the start of next season, with Ladbrokes pricing such a scenario up at 1/2.

Kevin De Bruyne is one player who some believe City will be vulnerable to losing this summer

Kevin De Bruyne is one player who some believe City will be vulnerable to losing this summer

Meanwhile, it is 33/1 that Guardiola will be the next Premier League manager to leave.

There is also concern over some of the club’s top players leaving the club due to the lack of European football.

BT Sport pundit Jermain Jenas said:  ‘I don’t see how the fans could blame them personally for walking away. If it’s a year, I can see somebody like Raheem Sterling saying, “I’ll be fine, I’ll stick it out, I’m 26-years-old”. But if it’s De Bruyne, who is 29-years-old, as I have said before and the few others, I think a few are going to really, you know, I think City will have to accept they are going to lose a few of their stars.’ 



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