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Correspondent- Based in Liverpool, Beth Lindop is ESPN's Liverpool correspondent and also covers the WSL and UWCL.
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Senior Writer, ESPN FC- James Olley is a senior soccer writer for ESPN.com. Read his archive here and follow him on Twitter: @JamesOlley.
Manchester City's guilty verdict on 114 breaches of Premier League rules, confirmed officially last Tuesday, is only the end of the beginning, with the appeals process and sanctions process to follow.
City continue to vehemently protest their innocence, and so any idea of a settlement is a fantasy right now. However, what comes after all this is potentially even more complicated because the ramifications of City's guilt stretch far and wide, as the purposeful inflation and misstatement of financial revenue by more than £900 million over a nine-year period (2009 to 2018) creates all sorts of alternative timelines.
What did these crimes cost other teams? City's rivals could have won titles, avoided relegation, qualified for the Champions League or signed many of those players who ended up at City. It adds up to potentially tens of millions in merit payments, and every club affected might look to find grounds to pursue compensation. The possibilities are almost endless, especially considering that prior to City's takeover by Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, their best Premier League finish was eighth in 2004-05.
The independent commission set up to hear the case between City and the Premier League did not include compensation for wronged parties within the scope of its judgment. In September 2024, only four clubs instructed lawyers to inform City that they had reserved their right to seek compensation should they be found guilty: Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United. This was to ensure they had options beyond the six-year statute of limitations from the time the allegations were first published by Der Spiegel until the Premier League's verdict.
Sources have suggested to ESPN that City's aggressive denials hint at a major fight should any compensation case be brought, and it is debatable how many clubs would have the stomach for such a prolonged battle.
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All clubs will likely wait until the sanction is confirmed before deciding if, and how, to pursue a compensation case against City. ESPN reports on the mood at these four clubs and the reasons they all might yet seek individual retribution against City.
Arsenal
You could forgive former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for taking City's wrongdoing more personally than most.
While the Gunners self-financed their move from Highbury to Emirates Stadium, the club was limited by terms of bank loans to spending 50% of its turnover on wages, essentially capping its ability to attract or retain talent based on money the club was bringing in. With the club's commercial revenue dwarfed by many of its rivals, Arsenal were effectively forced to offload many of their top players to comply with the financial rules of the time. City, for their part, benefited massively -- between 2009 and 2014, Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri and Bacary Sagna all left Arsenal for City.
Wenger took the brunt of criticism during that 22-year wait. He was speaking about Chelsea -- financially turbocharged five years earlier than City by Roman Abramovich's takeover -- but this 2005 quote is especially poignant now. "They have enhancement of performances through financial resources that are unlimited," said Wenger at the time. "For me, it's a kind of doping because it's not in any way linked to their resources."
If everything City achieved since 2009 is airbrushed from history, Arsenal would be champions again in 2022-23 and 2023-24, but the smart money right now is that any revision is more likely to be contained to the years relating to the charge.
Sources have told ESPN that Arsenal's decision to reserve their legal rights was significantly influenced by Tim Lewis, who had been a strong supporter of financial controls and possessed an acute understanding of the rules given his background as a corporate lawyer. Lewis left the club last year, and it is unclear whether Arsenal CEO Richard Garlick -- along with the club's owner Kroenke Sports Enterprises -- wants to carry the fight. The club declined to comment when contacted by ESPN.
Arsenal's growth during this period was undoubtedly restricted by compliance with financial regulations. The stadium build ran over budget, while a boardroom battle between KSE and shareholder Alisher Usmanov over the direction of the club restricted investment. KSE took full control in 2018, and its spending since -- combined with an uptick in commercial income -- has been significant, with Arsenal winning their first Premier League title since 2004 in May.
Arsenal were visibly and palpably impacted by the rules City willfully flouted. If anything, their motivation on philosophical grounds is clear. -- Olley
Liverpool
Of all the clubs impacted by Manchester City's alleged wrongdoing, Liverpool are arguably the biggest losers -- at least from an emotional perspective.
Technically speaking, any reallocation of honors from the years in question would see the Reds gain only one Premier League title (from 2013-14) and one League Cup (from 2015-16). However, sources at Anfield tell ESPN that they feel the club's subsequent halcyon days under Jürgen Klopp would have been even more successful if not for City's purportedly ill-gotten financial muscle.
Twice -- first in 2018-19, and then in 2021-22 -- Liverpool finished second to City by a single point in the Premier League. The corresponding hauls of 97 and 92 points remain the two highest points tallies of any second-placed side in the league's history. Hypothetically, Liverpool would have ended the 2018-19 season as invincible centurions, if not for City, and signed off the 2021-22 campaign with a domestic treble.
Speaking at a news conference last week, Germany boss Klopp said he remains "absolutely fine" with what he achieved at Anfield, but there will be some who feel both he and his players deserved more. Certainly, that appears to be the sentiment among the Liverpool hierarchy. Last week, Linda Pizzuti Henry -- the wife of the club's principal owner, Fenway Sports Group's (FSG) John W. Henry -- took to social media to share an excerpt from an article published by The Athletic.
"No matter how much is recouped in the coming years, it won't make up for what Liverpool were denied," the excerpt read. "The cost goes beyond the balance sheet."
FSG's distrust of City's remarkable commercial revenues is longstanding. In July 2011, after City had unveiled their £400 million sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways, Henry posted on X (formerly Twitter): "How much was the losing bid?" Just a few days later, Henry sided with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger after he suggested City had tried to contravene FFP rules. "A club's best player has to be worth at least 10% of your naming rights," Henry tweeted. "Mr. Wenger says boldly what everyone thinks."
It is little wonder, then, that Liverpool are one of the clubs assessing their options in light of the independent commission's findings. However, no matter what sanctions are imposed on City, some on Merseyside will always feel that the retribution cannot possibly compensate for what has been lost over the past decade. -- Beth Lindop
Manchester United
During the period (2009-18) that covers the Premier League investigation into City's finances and alleged rule breaking, United suffered a dramatic fall from grace as the preeminent force in the English game, becoming a team that struggled to compete for the major honors. While it's true that the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson as manager in 2013 is arguably of equal significance to the impact of City's actions, there are still clear areas on which United could mount a challenge for lost earnings and the prestige of winning trophies.
In terms of being denied on-field success, United lost the 2011 FA Cup semifinal to City -- and a chance to face Stoke City in the final -- which denied the club an opportunity to achieve a Premier League/FA Cup double that season. A year later, Sergio Aguero's stoppage-time goal in a 3-2 win secured the Premier League title for City, who edged out United on goal difference to become champions.
In 2015-16, City once again finished above United by virtue of goal difference, with Manuel Pellegrini's side claiming fourth (United in fifth) and the final Champions League qualification spot. Two years later, Jose Mourinho's United finished runners-up to Pep Guardiola's team, fully 19 points behind a City side that registered 100 points.
The biggest hit to United's finances would have come from missing out on a Champions League spot in 2016 -- a blow that would have amounted to around £25 million in lost prize money a decade ago, although that would have been slightly softened by the £5.5 million earned by winning the 2016-17 Europa League, plus £3 million-a-game receipts from seven home games in the competition.
Overall, the financial losses incurred by United because of City during the 2009-18 period would not amount to anywhere close to the £200 million being quoted in media circles. The club could argue that its diminished status, which accompanied City's rise, cost United in terms of commercial revenue and forced them to pay higher wages in a bid to attract players who might have wanted to play for their more successful neighbors at the time. However, both would be difficult to prove. -- Mark Ogden
Tottenham
Spurs were trapped in a cyclical battle for a top-four finish during this period of City's wrongdoing. It meant they routinely secured or came close to Champions League football and all that came with it: the prestige, the revenue and the chance to grow as a club. Tottenham's 1-0 win at City in May 2010 was a landmark moment, with Peter Crouch's header giving Spurs a win that reports at the time speculated was worth at least £30 million.
In four of the next five seasons, Tottenham finished fifth with City above them. They could therefore legitimately argue that City's presence cost them at least £120 million in lost Champions League revenue, and that's before the Premier League merit money is considered. They finished second in 2016-17, with then-boss Mauricio Pochettino claiming recently that Spurs should be awarded the title that year because champions Chelsea were subsequently found in breach of financial rules.
It remains to be seen whether Spurs possess that appetite in City's case; the club declined to comment when contacted by ESPN.
Daniel Levy, Spurs' executive chairman from 2001 to 2025, was at the helm when Spurs preserved their legal rights to challenge. Levy forged a reputation over two decades as a chairman with a forensic financial grip on the club and constant willingness to engage in difficult challenges to improve Tottenham's position. Sources say he might have relished a scrap like this.
But Levy is no longer in the post, with members of Joe Lewis' family taking over alongside CEO Vinai Venkatesham. The latter was at Arsenal during the period in which City were found to have cheated the rules.
It's also worth noting Spurs have hired several City Football Group employees. Scott Munn was hired as chief football officer in 2023 from his previous role as chief executive of CFG China. The club also promoted Simon Davies -- who spent eight years as City, the last as head of academy coaching -- in the same year, while chief revenue officer Ryan Norys also worked for CFG prior to his departure last week. -- Olley