Three years have passed, yet the shadow hanging over Manchester City refuses to move. What should have been a clear, firm process with a defined end has instead turned into one of the longest, most confusing, and most damaging sagas English football has ever seen. The delay surrounding Manchester City’s 115 Premier League charges is no longer just a legal issue. It has become an embarrassment, a stain on the English game, and a problem that affects everyone, not just Manchester City.
On February 6, 2023, the Premier League dropped a bombshell on English football. Manchester City were charged with more than 100 alleged breaches of financial rules. Everyone remembers the number 115, but many experts say it is closer to 130 when everything is counted properly. At the time, the news sent shockwaves through football. Fans expected a long case, but nobody imagined that three full years later there would still be no verdict, no clarity, and no end in sight.
Since that day, the case has dragged on endlessly. Hearings, legal arguments, leaked rumours, false hopes, and constant speculation have filled the gap where facts should be. Anger has grown. Frustration has exploded. And confidence in the Premier League’s ability to handle its biggest crisis has been badly damaged. The longer this case goes on, the worse it looks for English football as a whole.
This delay does not just hurt Manchester City. It hurts their rivals. It hurts players. It hurts managers. It hurts fans of every club who simply want to know whether the competition they are watching is fair. Football thrives on trust. Once that trust is broken or weakened, everything suffers.
Manchester City, for their part, have carried on as if nothing is wrong. They have strongly denied all wrongdoing from the start. Pep Guardiola has repeatedly and publicly backed the club, saying he believes they will be cleared. The team continues to play beautiful football. Trophies keep coming. Records keep being broken. On the pitch, City look like one of the best teams the Premier League has ever seen.
But off the pitch, there is always an asterisk. Always a question mark. Every success is followed by the same line in articles and discussions: “They are still waiting for the verdict.” That is not fair on City. It is not fair on Guardiola. And it is not fair on the players who have worked hard to win trophies.
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The rest of the football world is left guessing. Will City be found guilty or innocent? Will they face relegation? Will points be deducted? Will there be a massive fine? Or will nothing happen at all? Nobody knows. And that uncertainty is toxic.
Imagine Manchester City narrowly beating Arsenal to the Premier League title this season. Then imagine that months or years later, City are docked points and Arsenal are declared champions. Nobody wants to win the league like that. It would feel hollow. It would feel wrong. Titles should be won on the pitch, not decided in courtrooms long after the final whistle.
The same applies to past seasons. What about those years when City edged Liverpool to the title by a single point? Those were epic battles, decided by tiny margins. If sanctions were later applied relating to financial issues from more than a decade ago, how does that help anyone now? The earliest charges are from before Pep Guardiola even arrived at the club. How can that be fair on him, on current players, or on fans?
That is one of the biggest problems with this case. Time has passed. Players have moved on. Managers have changed. Football has evolved. The charges feel distant, almost disconnected from the current reality. When cases take this long, they lose their impact. They risk becoming obsolete.
There is also a growing feeling among fans that if the charges were truly devastating, the verdict would not take this long. The fact that three years have passed without a conclusion makes some people believe the case may not be as strong as first suggested. That may or may not be true, but perception matters. And right now, the perception is damaging.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has suggested that the Premier League may have made things harder for itself by bringing so many charges at once. By throwing everything into the case instead of focusing on the strongest accusations, the league almost guaranteed a long, complicated, and exhausting legal battle. More charges mean more evidence, more arguments, more hearings, and more delays.
The Premier League usually aims to resolve cases within a season. That is the ideal. But even simpler cases have taken far too long. Leicester City’s PSR breach, which was much more straightforward, still dragged on. When the independent commission finally published its reasons, the document ran to around 100 pages. That was one case. Manchester City’s case involves more than 100 charges. The scale is enormous.
Once the Premier League brought the charges, the case was referred to an independent commission. From that moment, it was no longer in the Premier League’s direct control. It was also no longer in Manchester City’s hands. Lawyers, barristers, endless documents, and exhaustive hearings took over. The legal process is slow by nature, but this feels extreme.
Over the years, there have been countless rumours about when the verdict would arrive. Some said it would come during an international break to minimise disruption. Others claimed it would be announced in the summer. Then October. Then just before Christmas. Journalists prepared stories that were never published. Fans waited and waited. Nothing happened.
The idea that such a huge decision would be timed simply to fit the news agenda is ridiculous. This is not a filler story to help newspapers sell copies during a quiet week. This is one of the biggest cases in football history. Treating it like a scheduling exercise only adds to the farce.
By now, the charges have almost become background noise. Manchester City continue to sign players. New signings do not seem worried about the case at all. Why would they be? There has been no resolution, no punishment, and no sign of urgency. The uncertainty has become normal, and that in itself is a problem.
There were moments when people thought things might change. Some powerful executives who were known to be very vocal about City’s case at Premier League meetings have since left their clubs. Daniel Levy at Tottenham and Tim Lewis at Arsenal were among the loudest voices. Their departures led to more speculation. Were things being smoothed over behind the scenes? Were City quietly confident of being cleared? Nobody knows, and that lack of transparency fuels conspiracy theories.
There is talk within football circles that City believe the worst possible outcome would be a fine. If that turns out to be true, it will raise serious questions about why this process took so long and caused so much damage. But again, nobody knows. Everything is guesswork.
What makes this situation even more frustrating is that Pep Guardiola deserves better. Many people believe he is the greatest manager the Premier League has ever seen. His teams play football in a way that pushes the sport forward. His influence can be seen across England, from youth teams to top-flight rivals trying to copy his ideas. His achievements are remarkable.
Yet every time Guardiola wins a trophy, there is a shadow. A caveat. A reminder that the verdict is still pending. That is unfair. Guardiola did not create the financial structures of the past. Many of the charges relate to periods before he arrived. And yet his legacy is now tied to a case he did not cause.
It is also unfair on rival clubs. Arsenal, Liverpool, and others have built teams, spent money, and competed honestly, believing in the rules of the competition. They deserve clarity. They deserve to know whether they were competing on a level playing field or not. Leaving this question unanswered for years undermines the integrity of the league.
Fans are the biggest losers in all of this. Football is supposed to be simple. You win, you lose, you celebrate, you suffer. But this case has added doubt to everything. When City win, some fans feel angry. When they lose, others say it proves nothing until the verdict comes. The joy has been diluted.
The Premier League prides itself on being the best league in the world. It sells itself on drama, fairness, and competition. But this case has exposed serious weaknesses. You cannot claim authority and credibility while allowing the biggest investigation in your history to drift endlessly.
At some point, responsibility must be taken. Either the Premier League should never have started this process without the ability to conclude it in a reasonable time, or the system itself needs serious reform. Three years is too long. Much too long.
This is not about wanting Manchester City to be punished or cleared. It is about wanting an answer. One way or the other. Football needs closure. City need closure. Their rivals need closure. Fans need closure.
Right now, the Manchester City charges case is doing more harm than good. It hangs over every title race. It poisons every debate. It weakens trust in the league’s governance. And the longer it goes on, the worse the damage becomes.
English football deserves better than this endless limbo. If the charges are strong, prove it and act. If they are not, clear the club and move on. What we have now is the worst possible outcome: uncertainty, suspicion, and embarrassment.
Three years on, this saga should never have reached this point. The Premier League must find a way to bring it to an end. Because until it does, the stain will remain, and the integrity of the game will continue to suffer.
