Rabat – Canada head coach Jesse Marsch has insisted that Manchester City face strict penalties for alleged Premier League financial violations.
Reflecting on his time managing against the English champions, Marsch noted that the operational differences between City and the rest of the league were obvious.
Between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, Manchester City systematically violated Premier League financial regulations across nine consecutive years.
According to league officials, the club relied on fraudulent commercial agreements to artificially boost income and conceal over $1.19 billion in actual operating expenses.
Rejecting the findings, Manchester City officially submitted an appeal on Thursday to challenge the independent commission’s ruling.
The club continues to maintain its innocence, asserting that the panel’s judgment was flawed and contained significant legal, procedural, and factual errors.
Having led Leeds United between 2022 and 2023, Marsch explained that the stark operational imbalance between clubs was obvious to him throughout his stint in the Premier League.
“I think Man City should be punished severely. I think they should have to go down, and by the way, everyone knew about it. Everyone knew,” Marsch told the Guardian on Sunday.
Marsch underscored the stark contrast in spending during the 2022 summer transfer window, pointing to how club finances were reported at the time.
“That summer, us and Man City were the only teams that said we made money. For us, we did make money, because we sold Raphinha, we sold Kalvin Phillips. We had a lot left over from what we bought,” he added.
“At the time, we weren’t in a position financially to not save. Our ownership didn’t have deep pockets. Whereas when Man City says this, I was literally like, ‘Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of joke?’”
The American coach pointed specifically to Manchester City’s marquee signing of Erling Haaland as a prime example of the financial irregularities he felt were taking place.
Expressing skepticism over the reported figures, the former Leeds manager described the feeling of helplessness experienced by rival clubs attempting to compete under those conditions.
“When they said they got Erling Haaland for $52m, it’s like: ‘Yeah, OK, sure!’ So, I knew there were inconsistencies in it, but what can you do? You just put your arms in the air and go, ‘This is football’,” he said.
An independent three-member panel will review Manchester City’s appeal behind closed doors.
Potential penalties range from heavy fines and points deductions to title revocations or even relegation. However, it remains uncertain whether any sanctions will take effect before the appeal process concludes.
