The ruling landed in late September. An independent commission appointed by the Premier League found Manchester City guilty on 114 of the 115 charges relating to the club’s financial reporting across nearly a decade.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the ruling detailed how City had “systematically broken Premier League rules for nearly a decade”. The club has rejected the verdict, calling the finding a “single false accusation” and saying it will appeal.

A separate hearing is set to decide any punishment. If the panel chose to go the full distance, the sanctions available would include points deductions, fines, transfer bans, and expulsion from the Premier League.

What Slot said in the press room

Among the archival clips circulating again this week is a line from Arne Slot, who was then Liverpool’s head coach. He said it in a press conference days after his side’s 2-0 win over Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday, 1 December 2024.

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After that game, Mohamed Salah had spoken about his unresolved contract.

“Honestly it’s in my head. Until now this is the last City game I will play for Liverpool (at home), so I was just going to enjoy it.”

Days later, asked what Salah had meant, Slot pointed instead at City’s then-ongoing hearing.

“Maybe Mo knows more about the 115 accusations that are done so he expects them not to be in the Premier League next season. I do expect them to be in the Premier League.”

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He pulled the line back almost immediately.

“This is not the place for me to talk about Mo’s contract. Maybe I’ve said already too much about the joke I’ve just made. So that will probably get the headlines. But it was a joke, I repeat, it was a joke.”

Slot sacked a year after the title

Slot’s first season at Liverpool ended with the club’s 20th league title; his second ended with a fifth-place finish, 60 points (the club’s lowest total since 2015-16), and his dismissal on 30 May 2026, with Liverpool saying a “different profile of head coach” was needed.

The sanctions panel has yet to set a date for the punishment hearing, and Manchester City have said they will appeal the verdict.

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