Manchester City’s 2023 Champions League triumph called into question in Italy

Manchester City’s guilty verdict over serious breaches of Premier League financial rules is now raising questions well beyond England.

In Italy, the discussion has already reached City’s 2023 Champions League triumph. That was, of course, the year they beat Inter Milan in the final in Istanbul. So that was bound to attract some attention from around there anytime.

Sabatini brings Inter and 2023 into the discussion

Italian journalist Sandro Sabatini has offered a more comprehensive angle on the case.

In a radio interview, as relayed by FCInter1908, he focused on what the breaches could mean when looking back at Manchester City’s later success.

For Sabatini, simply drawing a line at 2017/18 doesn’t necessarily settle the sporting argument.

“We are heading towards a verdict, the one on City, which if it becomes retroactive, and if the principle applies that an offence was committed by breaking a rule, then clearly it’s something enormous,” he said.

“If you commit an offence by buying a player in 2018 and that player also plays in 2023, when there’s the final against Inter, hold on.”

“2023 isn’t part of the investigation, but you played with players with whom you broke the rules. The Manchester City situation is enormous.”

That’s the part which will naturally attract attention around Inter. City beat the Nerazzurri 1-0 in Istanbul in June 2023, with Rodri scoring the only goal. It completed the treble for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Sabatini isn’t saying the Champions League is about to be taken away from City. There is currently no decision doing anything of the sort.

But he’s definitely questioning how the consequences of the financial breaches should be viewed when players and sporting benefits can carry over into later seasons.

A delicate timeframe

There’s an important distinction here. The independent commission’s findings relate to Manchester City’s conduct between 2009/10 and 2017/18. The 2023 Champions League campaign itself isn’t part of this Premier League case.

What happens to City from here also remains unresolved. The sanction will be dealt with separately, while the Premier League says possible punishments include fines, points deductions and other sporting sanctions. City also have the right to appeal – and it looks like they will.

In the end, it was inevitable that Istanbul would come back into the conversation at some point. Sabatini has now gone one step further and openly questioned whether the effects of Manchester City’s breaches can really be confined to the seasons covered by the case.