How Man City players, staff are handling Premier League verdict

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  Rob DawsonOct 1, 2026, 05:57 PM ET

The strength of the judgement against Manchester City, following their legal case with the Premier League, has shocked the club, its employees and their players. Most of those inside the City Football Academy (CFA) accept that the verdict -- made public for the first time on Tuesday -- is a worst-case scenario.

There's been speculation and discussion on and off at the CFA for more than three years since the charges were announced in February 2023 about what might happen. It was always viewed internally as highly unlikely that every count of financial misconduct would be proved.

City insist they are innocent -- a message that's come from the top, namely chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and CEO Ferran Soriano -- and many employees want to give the club the benefit of the doubt. They enjoy working for City and feel that they've been well looked after over the years.

In that respect, many people ESPN spoke for this story with are choosing to believe the conviction of Khaldoon and Soriano. At the very least, the majority of these staff members are prepared to wait until after the appeal is heard before passing judgement.

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Many staff members are also fans and as such, they are personally invested as well as professionally. City are a big club and a major employer, but since the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008, they club's owners have done a good job of creating a family feel and a sense of shared purpose. More than 700 employees attended a UK all-staff meeting in the first week of this three-week international break, while players are away on duty with their national teams.

There is, however, a cloud hanging over the CFA, and the mood in general has been described to ESPN as nervous. Soriano, in his video message to staff on Tuesday, insisted it should be business as usual, but in the absence of any real information about what sanctions might follow, there's genuine worry about what the future could hold.

The same goes for the players. With many of City's senior squad away on international duty, some have had direct contact with the club, while others have not. One agent of a first-team player told ESPN that his client is "calm" about the situation and is happy with the public reassurances offered by senior executives. There is, though, an acceptance that things could change depending on the result of the appeal -- which has yet to be filed, but must be lodged by the close of business on Friday, Oct. 2 -- and any punishment handed down.

Player concerns

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Speculation over considerable sporting sanctions is causing the most concern, sources tell ESPN. After all, City's players chose to go to the Etihad Stadium to play in the Premier League and the Champions League while getting the opportunity to win trophies. They need to be playing well at the highest level to earn international call-ups and to play at major international tournaments.

For that reason, one representative of a City first-teamer has privately questioned the sense in punishing current players who were not at the club when the alleged transgressions occurred between 2009 and 2018. Another agent has told ESPN that the players -- many of whom arrived or penned new deals after February, 2023, when the charges were first announced -- knew what they were signing up for because possible punishments have been widely known for a while.

Sources have told ESPN that the Professional Football Association (PFA) have made themselves available to talk to players about issues arising from the verdict. They helped a number of players at the end of last season when Southampton were expelled from the play-offs because a staff member was caught spying on opponents' training sessions; in that case, a significant sporting sanction was handed down for an incident that didn't involve the team, but did directly impact them.

It's unclear how many City players have clauses in their contracts to protect themselves in the event of relegation, or a points deduction so severe that it prevents the club from challenging for the title or playing in Europe for a number of years. "There may be a few tough lessons for players whose agents focus purely on how much their client is paid," one agent told ESPN.

Sources have told ESPN that other clubs are monitoring City's situation carefully and work is already going on in the background to find out what protections -- if any -- players have in their contracts, and whether or not they are accessible for transfer talks. Questions are also being asked privately about whether there's an appetite -- even at this early stage -- to consider alternative options away from the Etihad in the future.

The football department are keen to minimise any distractions. Manager Enzo Maresca is expected to address the verdict when his players return to the CFA next week, and his message is likely to centre on a need to remain focused on football.

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Whether that's possible or not is another matter. The story has already followed City's players wherever they've played during the international break. Norway manager Stale Solbakken was asked about Erling Haaland's mindset ahead of Norway's game against Wales in Cardiff. "Everything is fine," he said. Rúben Dias, stern-faced, shut down a question at a Portugal news conference.

Manchester City women's manager Andree Jeglertz became the first City employee to take questions about the Premier League verdict at a news conference on Wednesday, held to preview their game against Real Madrid. "The thing the club has been presented, is the information we have inside of our group," he said.

"We can't talk about anything else and we don't need to talk about anything else at the moment."

It's likely to be a similar message when Maresca sits down with reporters for the first time next week. He's due to speak for the first time at his next scheduled news conference on Friday, Oct. 9, two days before the trip to play Liverpool at Anfield.

Through the lens of the Premier League's statement, this next fixture has taken on added intensity and spice given Liverpool that have finished second behind City three times in the last 15 years. Of all the clubs who feel most wronged by all this, Liverpool are close to the top of the list.

Amid all the noise, Man City have told their staff to plough on. It may be easier said than done.