Defiant Pep Guardiola MORE likely to sign Man City contract if club found guilty and severely punished for 115 Financial Fair Play charges

The reigning Premier League champions have been dragged into an FFP case that includes somewhere between 115 and 130 charges. Speculation regarding what could happen if City are found guilty on multiple counts continues to rage, with rumoured sanctions ranging from points deductions to expulsion from the English top-flight.

• Getty

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Guardiola’s future has provided another unwelcome distraction amid that saga, with his current deal set to expire in the summer of 2025. There has been talk of him agreeing an extension through to 2026, which would see a decade of service at the Etihad Stadium completed.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  According to The Athletic, Guardiola would be more willing to put pen to paper if City were hit with severe sanctions from the Premier League – with it suggested that decision “would partly be out of defiance and partly not leaving a club he has come to love in a difficult spot”.

• Getty/GOAL

  TELL ME MORE

  It is also being claimed that City have inserted no clauses into the contracts of new arrivals that relate to potential relegation out of the Premier League. The official line coming out of the Etihad is said to be “there is nothing to worry about”, with players advised to “get on with the job”.

  WHAT NEXT?

  The Athletic are reporting that a final decision in City’s FFP case could be made by the end of the calendar year. Any appeals process would drag the matter on into 2025, but a cloud hanging over the blue half of Manchester could soon be lifted one way or another.