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A football finance expert has hinted that the ongoing case against Manchester City might be stalled by legal teams due to their substantial wage bill.

The Premier League has levelled accusations at City, claiming they breached financial fair play regulations from 2009 to 2018.

Kieran Maguire theorised about a possible points deduction for Manchester City



There's certainly a desire from the Premier League for it to come out [before the end of the season], because otherwise, we've got a hangover over the summer in terms of where does this leave clubs."

He also pointed out a potential consequence if the ruling happens after the season ends: "If it comes out in July, for example, and Manchester City are given a 40 or 50-point deduction, then presumably one of Leicester or Ipswich will be saying, 'well, if that had come out earlier, then we would have avoided relegation' – so, therefore, they might be putting in a legal case."

Maguire stressed that if Manchester City were to be penalized, the magnitude of any points deduction could far surpass previous punishments meted out for breaches of financial fair play regulations.

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Everton faced a 10-point deduction, which was reduced to six on appeal, with an additional two points taken off last season; Nottingham Forest also saw a four-point deduction in the same timeframe.

Maguire commented: "The tariffs that we've seen from the commissions for both Everton and Forest said the way forward is no point in fining a billionaire owner a few quid - because there's no disincentive there to misbehave.

"If you read the commission reports from cover to cover, they both say that these were minor breaches of the rules and what Manchester City are being accused of is corporate fraud over the period of nearly a decade.

"So if guilty, you've got to add a zero to the points deductions that we've seen for Forest and Everton

If not guilty, there's going to be a lot of trouble

Ultimately, there's going to be a penalty [if it happens] and that penalty is going to be decided by the commission
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