Manchester City's owners must sell up in the wake of the club's guilty verdict for breaching Premier League financial rules, according to former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.
Carragher says there can be no future for any executives implicated in the scandal, which City have stressed they intend to appeal, from majority owner Sheikh Mansour downwards.
An independent commission concluded City "clearly intended to circumvent Premier League rules" by inflating revenue and hiding costs through a series of "sham" commercial deals over a nine-season period.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Carragher said: "Manchester City are the end of their Abu Dhabi era. The club can only heal and recover from the shame of their guilt once the custodians recognise they have failed in their duty and sell up.
"There is no way to sugar-coat this. The scale of the institutional cheating and lack of co-operation in the investigation means the position of all City executives involved is untenable.
"Fighting on will only prolong the agony of supporters who wrong believe their pleas of innocence."
Carragher's views appear to contradict those of Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who suggested on Wednesday that such a sanction may not be suited to a group who have pumped billions into the club since their arrival in the city in 2008.
Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, told the BBC: "I would be really concerned to lose them.
"They've been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester. Obviously, the building of Manchester City into the global force that it is."
Burnham's comments came after David Kogan, chair of the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) said the ruling "raises serious issues" and pointed out the body has the power to assess the suitability of club owners and executives once proceedings come to a close.
Carragher is adamant there must be no mercy shown to those proven to have been complicit in one of the game's greatest controversies, and that any failure to uphold the rules will render such powers obsolete.
He added: "The Premier League's owners' and directors' test makes clear the repercussions for breaking the fundamental rules that all member clubs, including City, established and signed up to.
"Anyone who falls short must be disqualified from being Premier League directors and owners; otherwise, the regulations are not fit for purpose."
City have shown every intention of rigorously contesting the charges, and in a further development on Wednesday, the club's main sponsor Etihad Airways released a statement saying it was assessing its legal options following the independent commission's ruling.
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The club have the support of former manager Pep Guardiola, who won six Premier League titles with City before leaving at the end of last season.
Guardiola wrote on social media: "I want every single @ManCity fan to know I am here; more than ever.
"I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran, the players, staff, Enzo and you, our unique supporters.
"Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all."