City guilty on 114 charges as Soriano stays defiant

City found guilty on 114 of 115 charges, per The Athletic

The Athletic reports City will be found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges for financial irregularities over a decade, with the independent commission's final ruling still to come (4). That is the number hanging over everything right now.

Pochettino said on Monday that no punishment can repair the damage to the competition. It was (5).

The possible fallout is still open (6). A fine alone will not satisfy people: Swedish expert AJ Fagerlund argues "Böter är inte tillräckligt", fines are not enough (9). Roberto Mancini dismissed the accusations against his old club (3).

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Ferran Soriano is not blinking. The City CEO said: "Ha llevado ocho años llegar hasta aquí y llevará mucho más tiempo" (7). At a Copenhagen summit on Monday he indicated a final verdict is still a long way off (8).

Pochettino pressed on the double standard, asking where the control was. "Hvor var kontrollen? Det er det, der springer i øjnene for mig," he said, pointing to Tottenham's 18 months without signings (8).

Your wage bill, top to bottom

Erling Haaland tops City's 2026/2027 wage list at around £525,000 per week, per Spotrac data (1). Enzo Fernandez and Jack Grealish sit high on it too, part of a bill that has drawn scrutiny while the club faces possible expulsion from the Premier League (1).

Liverpool may be missing two attackers

Your next opponents have a striker problem. Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo both withdrew from international duty through injury, leaving Liverpool facing a decision up front for the trip to the Etihad (2).

City go to Liverpool on Sunday, October 11 at 17:30 CEST. You sit first on 15 points from five games, five wins from five, plus-eight goal difference.

Ait-Nouri sent away from Algeria camp

Rayan Ait-Nouri was sent away from the Algeria camp after the 3–1 win over Zambia, with conflicting accounts of why (10). One version says he reacted angrily to being left out, another says the City defender asked to leave himself. His status is unclear (10).

Fan reactions

The mood on r/MCFC is split between refusing to panic and wanting the bigger picture addressed. One thread reminds Blues to drop the doom and treat the coverage as "newspaper noise", while another argues the case should open a real conversation about FFP as a "glass ceiling" on ambitious challengers. The most-read take points to a league whose financial rules, had they bitten harder, would already have reshaped the top of the table. You can read it here.

Sources

  • 1. scsport.raport.ba — Manchester City osuđen na propast, a plaće probile sve granice: Ovo su nevjerovatne zarade Haalanda i saigrača
  • 2. liverpoolecho.co.uk — How Liverpool should line up in attack against Man City with no Alexander Isak or Cody Gakpo
  • 3. n-tv.de — Klub in 115 Punkten schuldig: Manchester City droht Super-GAU: Ex-Coach pfeift auf Vorwürfe
  • 4. mundodeportivo.com — Del oasis del City al infierno de Manchester en 114 faltas
  • 5. espn.com — Poch: No punishment for Man City can repair severe damage done
  • 6. socceramerica.com — Manchester City’s Premier League charges: What comes next?
  • 7. marca.com — Ferran Soriano, CEO del Manchester City, se muestra desafiante ante las posibles sanciones
  • 8. bold.dk — Loren Pochettino: Hvor var kontrollen med City?
  • 9. sverigesradio.se — Experten: ”Böter är inte tillräckligt”
  • 10. africasoccer.com — Ait-Nouri’s Algeria departure clouded by conflicting accounts after Zambia win
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