The Premier League are alleging that Manchester City lied about their financial affairs for nine years between 2009 and 2018, as well as failing to cooperate with the league’s investigation. After watching the massive spending being done during the latest transfer window in the EPL and the constant complaints aimed at the Catalans for their financial dealings in recent seasons, it’s hard to fault Culers for having some schadenfreude at City’s expense.
The ways in which this news may effect Barcelona is not as simple as transfer shopping. Anyone hoping that Erling Haaland, Aymeric Laporte, Rodri, Kevin de Bruyne, or Phil Foden will be on the market anytime soon is doing just that; simply hoping. With the money City Group has, they will use their powerful lawyers against the EPL’s similarly powerful lawyers and have their case heard by an independent commission.
Due to that taking place outside of the world of football, it could be months or more likely years before a verdict does come down and a punishment or punishments are handed out. If the complaint stands, City could see a fine, suspensions, transfer bans, points deductions (current and retroactive), replayed matches, and/or potential expulsion, as in relegation, from the Premier League. Even when those punishments come down they may potentially be appealed to some extent.
So again, FC Barcelona wouldn’t gain anything from City getting punished – Barça never had a title taken from them by City or even dealt with a suspect transfer. For those hoping that City players would be available when a punishment does come down – unfortunately it’s more likely that other EPL clubs will have the funds (potentially with City compensation packages) to snag those players.
The only thing that may change ever so slightly is the public relations discussion around a potential Super League and the credibility of Barcelona’s war with La Liga. La Liga has fallen behind the financial might of the EPL after decades of failing to capitalize on a global market the way the UK did, but if we are to give Javier Tebas just a sliver of credit, La Liga’s salary limitations are in theory in place to prevent clubs in Spain from putting their own existence at risk. Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell may have had some shady dealings, but Rosell was jailed for his part and Bartomeu may someday face the same. As for Joan Laporta, he’s openly criticized for his financial decisions because due to the budget that must be submitted to the general assembly, everyone gets to judge those largely transparent decisions.
Barcelona’s “punishment” is currently ongoing – unlike Juventus and Manchester City, La Liga didn’t let them get away with it. Messi leaving was punishment. An inability to reinforce this summer awaits as a continuation of that self-inflicted punishment.
In addition, the case for the Super League will never hold water when the conversation is dominated by English-speakers, many of which watch and support English clubs. Honestly, as a fan of La Liga, it’s not the best solution for the “good of football”, especially in Spain, but it’s understandable why the giants of Spain feel that it’s their only way to keep up. So expect that as the EPL handles the cloud surrounding the team that won six of their last ten titles, Barcelona and Real Madrid may go on the offensive in the press about the validity of a league that brings in higher broadcasting revenue and does it above board.
The final way that the breaches affect Barcelona is purely hypothetical, but somewhat realistic based on the way that Laporta operates. Laporta is a relationships kind of president, which means all of his old friends, including Pep Guardiola (City’s manager), Ferran Soriano (City’s CEO), Txiki Begiristain (City’s Director of Football), and famous water poloist Manel Estiarte (Pep’s Head of Player Support), may be able to land back on their feet in Catalonia if City require a full clean-out. Guardiola would likely return as a club ambassador while Soriano and Begiristain may find roles somewhere in the front office with nondescript titles. If all three sneak out the back door in Manchester, they may return to Barcelona to try to rehabilitate their reputations.
More than anything, FC Barcelona likely won’t be affected much by Manchester City breaking the rules. But as one of the clubs under the most heat for financial blunders over the last few seasons, it may be nice to have the heat finally on somebody else.
