What Man City's Charges Could Have Meant for Liverpool

Exactly three years, seven months and seven days since the Premier League first officially referred Manchester City to an independent commission on February 6, 2023, over alleged breaches of its rules, the club have been found guilty of 114 of 115 charges.

The charges apply to a nine-year period of financial fair play breaches which began in 2009 and ended in 2018. The probe began after German news outlet Der Spiegel published leaked documents in November 2018 about City's financial documents.

The Cityzens were accused of failing to provide credible financial details of payments to players and coaching staff, violating UEFA's financial fair play regulations and the Premier League profit and sustainability rules, according to the report.

Coincidentally, the violations began just a year after the 2008 takeover of the club by the Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE Sheikh Mansour-led Abu Dhabi United Group.

Since then, the Cityzens have won 22 domestic, continental and intercontinental accolades, including eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups, seven League Cups, one Champions League and Super Cup and Club World Cup. However, six of those trophies were won since the charges were won when those charges were first brought in February 2023.

City are expected to appeal the case, with The Athletic citing a City spokesperson revealing that the investigation remains ongoing and reiterating the club's earlier stance of diligence throughout the process.

Should the judgement be ruled against City, sources suggest the club could face possible punishments, including paying compensation and point deductions

Four clubs, including Liverpool, were served legal notices in 2024 on City, giving them the right to demand compensation in excess of £100m if they were found guilty of severe charges.

Between 2009 and 2018, when the charges relate to, Liverpool have finished as runners-up to City on several occasions, including in 2013-14 and the 2015-16 Carabao Cup in 2015-16.

In addition, they also achieved three of the Premier League's highest single-season point tallies (97 in 2018-19, 99 in 2019-20 and 92 in 2021-22) under Klopp but failed to win the title in that period, as the Cityzens clinched the title in those seasons.

Having come closest to usurping the club's Pep Guardiola-led dominance under Jurgen Klopp, it is fair to say that Liverpool are in a strong position to gain any sporting advantage should it come to that.

2013-14 season

Liverpool were within a touching distance of clinching the 2013-14 title. The then Brendan Rodgers-led side needed just seven points to secure the title but first needed to navigate a strong run of fixtures, including against Chelsea.

On paper, even when a point was all the Reds needed in that clash, it was the toughest of the remaining fixtures. There was optimism that would be achieved as they went into the game on the back of an 11-straight wins in the league against a Chelsea side that were gearing up for a tough UEFA Champions League semi-final clash with Atletico Madrid the following week.

Still, despite amassing 73% possession and recording 26 goals, the Blues ran out 2-0 winners, which paved the way for eventual winners City in the title race. Rogers' side further self-destructed in the clash against Crystal Palace, giving up a 3-0 lead to tie the game and further dropping points.

On the other hand, City went on to win their final four games of the season to clinch the now much criticised title by 86 points, two more than Liverpool recorded that campaign despite being six points behind the Reds after 34 games.

With the probe over City's charges emerging, former Liverpool left-back Jon Flanagan tweeted, "When is our open-top bus parade? 13/14", suggesting that the Merseyside giants may have won the title that season

Former Reds left-back Jose Enrique has also rallied his support for his club to be crowned winners of the 13-14 season title, tweeting, "Is already here!!! Thank you, Premier League, and send me the medal soon too," accompanied by a video of him kissing the trophy.

2018-19 season

Liverpool had a terrific 2018-19 season, and there were strong indications that there would emerge winners that campaign.

They finished the first half of the campaign with nine wins in a row, including an emphatic 5-1 win over Arsenal to move ten points clear of second-placed City.

Incredibly, the Reds lost only one game in the entire campaign and accumulated a sky-high 97 points but still astonishingly lost the title by a point to Pep Guardiola's City.

It could be argued that Liverpool were the architects of their own misfortune that season, considering they spent more on campaigns and several positions in their squad, while City brought only Riyad Mahrez for the first team.

However, City already had a well-fortified squad following heavy spending in the previous season. While nothing should be taken away from their brilliance, especially in the second half of that campaign, some suggest they couldn't have competed without the financial latitude to keep spending heavily.

The knock-on effect of these breaches poses the existence of a whole new reality. With a win against City, Liverpool could've been centurions and invincible. But putting aside team accomplishments, this was the year that Virgil Van Dijk came second in the Ballon d'Or. He won the UCL, the Super Cup, and the Club World Cup. He was named the UEFA Men's Player of the Year (the first defender to win it) and PFA Players' Player of the Year. He missed out on first place by a small margin of 6 votes. With a league win, the results of the Ballon d'Or could have changed, altering the legacy of VVD forever. 

How these charges could reshape Jurgen Klopp & Steven Gerrard legacies

Steven Gerrard has arguably been the most taunted player for not winning the Premier League title, no thanks to his infamous slip against Chelsea in 2014.

Rival fans showed Gerrard hardly any sympathy, and social media soon became filled with photos, videos and posts mocking the Liverpool captain. After the draw with Crystal Palace, Tottenham were forced to issue an apology following the appearance on the club's official Twitter account of a ridiculing message directed at the midfielder.

The situation quickly went beyond social media when supporters started turning up at the matches with humorous signs directed at him. Chants about that famous incident also spread quickly and eventually became a common feature of Premier League matches at stadiums all over England.

"I sat in the back of the car and felt the tears rolling down my face. I hadn't cried for years, but on the way home, I couldn't stop. The tears kept coming," Gerrard wrote.

 "I can't even tell you if the streets were thick with traffic or as empty as I was on the inside. It was killing me." Gerrard professed in his autobiography, My Story.

However, after 710 appearances for Liverpool, including 504 in the Premier League, several European accolades, including the UEFA Champions League, and incredible individual success, including the UEFA Best Player, Premier League Player of the Season, and England Player of the Year, Gerrard will always be adored as one of Europe's finest midfielders.

A Red through and through, Gerrard came through the ranks at Liverpool's academy before making his debut on November 29, 1998. 

He is also a Premier League Hall of Fame inductee and deservedly so, having provided 92 top-flight assists while scoring the second-highest number of goals from midfield among his 119 goals for the club.

Now, with the Premier League officially confirming that City have breached its rules, the question remains; how does this change how Gerrard is remembered?

If there's a manager who has given Guardiola a run for his money, it is Jürgen Klopp. This was the man infamously called the "Muhammad Ali of football" by former Borussia Dortmund director Michael Zork.

The now German national team boss has clashed with Guardiola 30 times and has emerged victorious in 12 of those occasions. In the Premier League, he has won four and drawn seven of 16 games against the Catalan boss, who described Klopp's Liverpool as his "biggest challenge".

"He helped me; his teams helped me to be a better manager. He gave me another level to think about it: prove myself, what I have to do to be a better manager with our teams to try and beat them. It is the reason why I am still in this business. 

"There are some managers who challenge you to move a step forward."

Those were the words of Guardiola himself, a reflection of the high level Klopp's side challenged him for accolades.

However, despite posing the 'biggest challenge' to City, Klopp only won one Premier League title in nine seasons in charge as Liverpool boss, finishing as runner-up on two occasions in 2021-22 and notably in 2018-19, where City's charges fall under.

Interestingly, he lost both titles by just a single point. Firstly, they recorded a sky-high 97 points in the 2018-19 campaign, which remains the highest tally of any top-flight English club to finish as runner-up, while also recording 92 points in 2021-22, but it was unfortunately not enough against a high-flying City side.

When asked about the possibility of a court decision awarding him those two Premier League crowns, Klopp, in a Q&A session with comedian John Bishop, said, "If you organise a bus parade, I'm in!" How long it takes, I don't care."

Conclusion