Analysis
Man City charges: What if club's Premier League titles and trophies are stripped? Who 'benefits' and what changes?
Manchester City won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, three League Cups and one Community Shield between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons during which they committed serious breaches of Premier League financial rules; Man City deny the breaches and will appeal against the ruling
Wednesday 30 September 2026 17:41, UK
Jamie Carragher has called for Manchester City to be stripped of their titles after the club was found guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules – so what would change?
An independent commission found City guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons, during which the club won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, three League Cups and one Community Shield.
Sanctions will be addressed in a further hearing with the independent commission and Man City, who continue to deny the breaches, have confirmed they will appeal against the ruling and have until Friday, October 2 to do so.
Possible sanctions include points deductions, fines, transfer bans and expulsion from the Premier League - but what if City are stripped of their titles and trophies?
- Man City charges reaction LIVE!
- Man City guilty - what happens now and who decides?
- Disguised funding and 'dishonest' witnesses - key revelations from City verdict
If City are stripped of Premier League titles…
Man City won three Premier League titles between 2009/10 and 2017/18.
They pipped Manchester United on the final day of the season in 2012 through Sergio Aguero's famous winner, then they won the league by two points over Liverpool in 2014 before setting a new record in 2018 by amassing 100 points to deny United again.
So if the titles were awarded simply to the runners-up, Man Utd would be handed two, one each for Sir Alex Ferguson and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, taking the club's Premier League total to 15, and Liverpool one - their second under Jurgen Klopp.
However, stripping City of their titles would not necessarily mean rewriting the league tables and promoting every club below them by one place. Instead, the titles could remain vacant, like when Juventus were stripped of the 2004/05 Serie A title for their involvement in the Calciopoli doping scandal, and it was left unassigned.
What if Man City's record was expunged?
Another option could be to expunge Man City's league record - removing their results - between 2009/10 and 2017/18, which would impact teams' points total and even their finishing positions, although Man Utd and Liverpool would still replace them as title winners.
Blackpool, in the 2010/11 season, are the only club across the nine seasons that would technically have avoided relegation if Man City's results were removed, at Wolves' expense.
What about European qualification?
In four of the nine seasons that Man City have been found guilty of financial breaches, Everton missed out on European football because City finished above them in the Premier League.
In a fifth season, 2013/14, Everton finished fifth and qualified for the Europa League, when the top four - including champions City - qualified for the Champions League.
Tottenham, meanwhile, didn't qualify for the Champions League in four seasons during the period because City finished above them in the table. In each of those seasons, they played in the Europa League instead.
Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea missed out on Champions League football because City finished above them during the seasons in focus.
Liverpool, Man Utd, Swansea and Southampton were denied European qualification because City finished above them.
And what about the cups?
Tony Pulis was managing Stoke City when Man City beat them in the 2011 FA Cup final, winning their first major trophy in 35 years, and said he feels "cheated".
City also won three League Cups, beating Sunderland in 2014, Liverpool in 2016 and Arsenal in 2018 as well as Chelsea in the 2012 Community Shield.
Sunderland haven't won a trophy since the 1973 FA Cup, while Klopp was denied his first piece of silverware when City won on penalties at Wembley and Arsene Wenger was prevented from bowing out in style in his final season at Arsenal.
