Manchester City must be relegated, says Canada’s ex-Leeds manager

Canada national team coach Jesse Marsch, who previously managed Leeds United in the Premier League during the 2022–23 season, has publicly called for Manchester City to face relegation following a commission finding that the club committed serious breaches of the league’s financial rules. Marsch told The Guardian he believed the alleged irregularities were widely known across the league and that the disparity he observed while managing against City suggested inconsistencies in how the club reported finances. The Premier League’s ruling alleges City used sham commercial contracts to overstate revenue and understate costs by more than £900 million across nine seasons from 2009–10 to 2017–18. Manchester City has rejected the findings, saying the verdict contains material errors of law, principle and fact, and the club has appealed to an independent three-member board; the appeal will be heard privately. Marsch cited his own experience in the 2022 summer transfer window as an example, pointing to Leeds’s sales of Raphinha to Barcelona and Kalvin Phillips to City and noting both clubs reported making money that window. He expressed scepticism about City’s reported figures and specifically questioned the widely reported £52 million fee for Erling Haaland’s transfer from Borussia Dortmund as inconsistent with what he observed. Potential punishments outlined by the Premier League range from fines and points deductions to sporting penalties such as relegation or the removal of titles. It is not yet clear whether any sanctions will be applied before the outcome of City’s appeal is determined, and the club continues to contest the allegations.