Financial doping threatens to send Manchester City to the fifth tier

On a cloudy evening at the Etihad Stadium, commentator Filip Joos whispers that the future of Manchester City can never become “more romantic”, while he compares the club to a ship in turbulent waters.

Financial violations and possible sanctions

Manchester City has been found guilty of 114 breaches of the Financial Fair Play‑regulations. The English powerhouse risks a multi‑million pound fine, points deduction, forced relegation and even expulsion from English professional football.

The possible sanction could lead to the Etihad Stadium becoming the setting for a match in the English fifth tier, a scenario the club itself denies but, according to Joos, the facts speak against the Citizens.

Joos’ dramatic view on the involved Belgians

Joos points out that the club won three English league titles between 2008 and 2018, but that he sees “nothing” left of those titles and that the Premier League should confiscate them.

He calls the violations “financial doping of as much as one billion euros”, an amount he compares to the spending of Manchester United, Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC in the same period.

Vincent Kompany experienced the entire investigated period, whereas Kevin De Bruyne only moved from VfL Wolfsburg to Manchester City in 2015.

Joos wonders whether Kompany, who was studying economics at the time, suspected something. He rates Kompany “very highly” and sees him as a potential coach in a hypothetical third‑tier scenario.

The commentator dreams of a fan protest, a ban for the owners and a phone call to De Bruyne to end his career at Manchester City in the third tier, with Kompany as coach. “It will never be more romantic than that,” concludes Joas.