Where Man City would've finished in best-ever season if hit with massive points deduction

View 2 Images

Manchester City would still have escaped relegation had they been hit with a monster points penalty in their greatest-ever Premier League season. City and the Premier League are still waiting for the verdict over 115 alleged financial breaches between 2009 and 2018.

The club was initially charged in early 2023 while a hearing into the alleged breaches ended in December 2024 following a 12-week tribunal. However, an independent commission still hasn't made its findings public.

City have denied any wrongdoing and are understood to be confident of being cleared. If found guilty, the club could be docked between 40 and 60 points, according to leading football finance expert Kieran Maguire, who doesn't believe relegation is likely because the charges fall under Premier League rules, not EFL ones.

If City had been hit with a 60-point deduction during the 2017/18 season, when they won the league with 100 points, 19 clear of second-placed Manchester United , they would still have finished 14th, ahead of Brighton on goal difference.

MAKE THE MIRROR YOUR FIRST CHOICE! Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings

That would have left them seven points above the relegation zone, which that season was filled by Swansea City , Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion. However, a 60-point deduction as of now would leave them staring at relegation.

Currently on 56 points, four behind leaders Arsenal , Pep Guardiola's side would be left on minus four. Even if they won all their remaining games, they would still only reach 29 points, which no side has ever stayed up on.

Maguire reached the 40 to 60-point figure after taking into account the recent punishments handed to Everton and Nottingham Forest for breaching financial rules. He said on The Overlap Fan Debate : "If we take a look at precedents, we've had Everton and Nottingham Forest with six and four-point deductions for a single offence covering a three-year period.

View 2 Images

"The accusations against Manchester City cover a nine-year period, so it's far bigger. The numbers involved, we're not certain about, but they're likely to be quite significant.

"So I think you have to add a zero to what we've seen from Forest and Everton , so somewhere between a 40 and 60-point deduction would, I think, on merit, be consistent with what we’ve seen from other decisions on logic. If they want to go further, then we don't know the severity.

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football's Facebook page

"In the cases of both Forest and Everton, they were to do with FFP [Financial Fair Play] purely. The accusations against Manchester City are why it's taking so long.

"Corporate fraud is a very serious accusation. The board of directors would have to go. How can you be in a meeting room with other members of the Premier League and the Premier League itself, of whom you’re a shareholder, with this accusation being proven?"

Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.