The long-running Manchester City case has moved into a new and explosive phase, and some of the players who finished on the wrong side of the club’s rise have already started asking questions.

Reports emerged on Friday that an independent commission had found City guilty of 114 of the 115 financial charges brought against the club, although the full judgment has still not been published by the Premier League and no punishment has been announced. City continue to reject wrongdoing and insist that the process remains ongoing.

That uncertainty has not stopped former rivals from reacting.

And for Manchester United legends in particular, the conversation quickly turned towards two of the most painful title races in the club’s recent history.

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Ferdinand immediately makes his feelings clear

Rio Ferdinand was among the first major former players to react.

The former United defender was part of the side that lost the 2011/12 Premier League title to City on goal difference, with Sergio Agüero’s famous stoppage-time winner against Queens Park Rangers deciding the championship on the final day.

Ferdinand responded to the reported verdict by posting an image of himself alongside his Premier League medals.

“Another premier league medal to be added to the cabinet,” Ferdinand wrote.

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He then turned his attention to former United manager José Mourinho.

“And another for Jose,” he added.

The second comment referred to the 2017/18 season, when Mourinho’s United finished second behind Pep Guardiola’s 100-point City side.

Ferdinand officially won six Premier League titles during his career at Old Trafford. If City were stripped of the 2011/12 championship and the trophy was subsequently reassigned to United, that number would rise to seven.

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But that remains several significant steps away. No sanction has been decided, stripping titles is not automatic and there is no guarantee that a vacated championship would simply be handed to the team that finished second. Reports have also suggested there is limited appetite within the Premier League to rewrite previous title winners, although the independent commission retains significant power when determining sanctions.

De Gea asks the question United fans are now debating

David de Gea soon joined his former teammate.

The Spaniard arrived at Manchester United in 2011 and was therefore involved in both of the United teams that finished immediately behind City during the period covered by the financial allegations.

His reaction was brief.

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“So…… Let’s talk. How many Premier League titles have I won then? 🤔”

De Gea officially has one Premier League winner’s medal, from Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in 2012/13.

However, United were runners-up to City in both 2011/12 and 2017/18 while De Gea was at Old Trafford. In the hypothetical scenario where those championships were stripped and awarded to the runners-up, his tally would therefore rise from one to three.

It illustrates why the Manchester City case is no longer only about what happens to the club in the future.

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It has reopened arguments about the past.

Liverpool stars have questions too

Manchester United are not the only club whose former players have started looking back at old league tables.

Former Liverpool defender José Enrique also reacted, focusing on the dramatic 2013/14 title race.

Liverpool led the Premier League during the closing stages of that campaign before eventually finishing two points behind City.

Alongside an edited image of himself celebrating with the trophy, Enrique joked: “Thank you, Premier League, and send me the medal soon too.”

That means all three Premier League championships City won during the central period under investigation, 2011/12, 2013/14 and 2017/18, now have former opposition players publicly raising the possibility of retrospective consequences.

For now, however, those comments remain exactly that: reactions and jokes rather than an indication of what the Premier League will actually do.

Not everyone wants City’s achievements erased

The reaction has not been entirely one-sided.

Former City midfielder Rodri publicly defended the club and the players who produced its success, arguing that what happened on the pitch should not simply disappear because of decisions made elsewhere within the organisation.

“I believe in the justice system and innocence of the club,” Rodri said while on international duty.

Former Liverpool defender Andy Robertson took a similarly cautious position. Despite spending years competing directly against Guardiola’s City side, Robertson argued that City’s players had proved their quality on the pitch and should not personally carry responsibility for financial decisions made above them.

That distinction could become one of the central arguments surrounding the case.

For Ferdinand, De Gea and Enrique, the verdict inevitably raises questions about championships their teams narrowly lost.

For others, changing historical results would punish players who had no involvement in accounting, sponsorship agreements or the financial reporting at the centre of the case.

Manchester City insist the battle is far from over

There is another major reason why talk of redistributed titles remains premature.

Manchester City have made clear that they do not regard the matter as finished.

Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak told supporters that “nothing has changed” in the club’s position and stressed that the legal process still has significant stages remaining. City’s official statement said the Premier League process remains ongoing and subject to strict confidentiality.

Chief executive Ferran Soriano has since told European club officials that City disagree with the commission’s findings and intend to continue fighting to prove their innocence. As of September 29, neither City nor the Premier League had publicly released the commission’s full judgment.

That means the biggest questions remain unanswered.

The punishment has not been decided. The prospect of an appeal remains. And there is still no certainty that any of City’s previous trophies will be touched at all.

But after years in which the 115 charges existed largely as a legal cloud hanging over English football, the reaction from Ferdinand, De Gea and their former rivals shows just how quickly the debate has changed.

It is no longer simply about whether Manchester City could eventually be punished.

For some of the biggest names who competed against them, it is now about whether football history itself could be rewritten.