If Manchester City are actually stripped of their three prized Premier League titles, which clubs will emerge as the new champions? | Football News

Manchester City’s reported guilty verdict on 114 of the 115 Premier League financial charges has reopened one of the biggest questions hanging over the case: if the club are eventually stripped of the titles they won during the period under investigation, who would actually be recognised as champions instead?The answer is not as straightforward as simply handing the trophies to the teams that finished second, particularly because no sanction has yet been decided, City are expected to appeal and the Premier League’s rules give an independent commission a wide range of options.

Why City’s three titles are now part of the discussion

Manchester City were charged by the Premier League in February 2023 with 115 alleged breaches of its financial rules covering the period from 2009 to 2018. The independent commission’s hearing began on September 16, 2024, and ran for around three months before concluding in December 2024.On Friday, September 25, 2026, The Athletic reported that the commission had found City guilty on 114 of the 115 charges. Reuters subsequently reported the same finding, while noting that the club are expected to appeal and that the process is not yet complete. Manchester City have maintained that the Premier League process remains ongoing and that their position has not changed.

FILE – The club logo decorates a corner flag before the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)

No sanctions have been announced, meaning the reported verdict does not itself strip City of any trophy. The next stage will determine what punishment, if any, follows, with both sides having an appeal route under the Premier League rules.The reason the titles have become part of the conversation is the period covered by the charges. City won the Premier League three times between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons, claiming their first title in 44 years in 2011/12 before winning again in 2013/14 and 2017/18.The first of those triumphs came in extraordinary fashion. City finished level on points with Manchester United in 2011/12 but won the title on goal difference, with Sergio Agüero’s famous 94th-minute goal against Queens Park Rangers delivering the championship at the Etihad Stadium.Two years later, City finished two points ahead of Liverpool to win the 2013/14 title. Their third championship within the period came in 2017/18, when Pep Guardiola’s side became the first Premier League team to reach 100 points.That leaves three seasons in which a retrospective title change could theoretically affect the final standings, should the commission ultimately impose a sanction that alters those results.

Could Manchester City actually lose the titles?

There is a legal route for retrospective sporting punishment, but that is different from saying title stripping is inevitable or even likely.Sub-clause W.51.7 of the Premier League handbook states that the commission can “impose upon the respondent any combination of the foregoing or such other penalty as it shall think fit”. According to The Athletic, the potential sanctions under Rule W.51 range from reprimands and financial penalties to points deductions and expulsion from the Premier League.The important detail is that points deductions can be imposed retrospectively, meaning the commission has a mechanism through which past league standings could potentially be affected. That is what creates the possibility, however remote, of City losing titles won during the period covered by the case.

Pep Guardiola, the then Manager of Manchester City, poses for a photo with the Premier League title trophy following his team’s victory during the Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on May 19, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo/Getty Images)

José Mourinho raised the possibility himself in October 2024, when his Manchester United side’s 2017/18 campaign was brought up ahead of a Europa League meeting with Fenerbahçe.“As you know, we finished second in the Premier League [in 2018],” Mourinho said with a grin.“I think we still have a chance to win that league because maybe they punish Manchester City with points, and maybe we win that league and then they have to pay me the bonus and give me the medal.”The practical question is whether a retrospective points deduction would automatically result in another club being declared champion.Finance expert Kieran Maguire told Sky Sports in 2024 that it would be “difficult” for another club to establish that City’s alleged breaches directly cost them silverware.“If you talk to lawyers, they will say it will be difficult for another club to say that they lost a title, or they lost probably more importantly access to the Champions League and the rewards that brings,” Maguire said.The issue was also discussed at the Business of Football Summit in 2025, where Sky reporter Rob Harris spoke with sports journalist Matt Hughes of FootBiz, sports lawyer Simon Leaf and The Sun reporter Martin Lipton.Hughes said: “There seems to be no appetite to take retrospective punishment.”Leaf was more cautious, saying it was still “too early” to reach a final view, while pointing to the potential financial claims from clubs that believe they missed out because of City’s results.“I suspect there will be certain clubs looking at this and saying, actually we would have been entitled to payments for qualifying for Champions League… or even bonuses from sponsors from finishing in a different position,” Leaf said.Lipton, meanwhile, argued that removing the titles would go too far.“If you were to strip titles, the single most iconic moment in the history of the Premier League – Sergio Aguero’s 94th minute goal against QPR to win the league – didn’t happen,” he said.“You can’t rewrite history to that extent.”Lipton added that title stripping was “not going to happen”.

Which clubs finished second behind City?

If the Premier League were to retrospectively alter the three title races in question, the runners-up provide the obvious starting point.

2011/12 — Manchester United

Manchester United finished level on points with City in 2011/12, with both clubs ending the season on 89 points. City took the title on goal difference after Agüero’s extraordinary late winner against QPR.Sir Alex Ferguson’s United therefore represent the most obvious alternative champion if the 2011/12 title were removed from City’s record.It is also the title most deeply intertwined with the debate because of how it was decided. City did not simply finish ahead of United by a comfortable margin; they were separated by goal difference after one of the most famous finishes in Premier League history.

2013/14 — Liverpool

Liverpool finished second in 2013/14, two points behind City.Brendan Rodgers’ side had led the title race for much of the season and appeared on course to win their first Premier League championship before a late-season collapse allowed City to overtake them.A retrospective alteration would therefore put Liverpool in the position of the team immediately behind City in the final table, although, as Maguire and the other experts have pointed out, being the original runner-up does not necessarily mean a club is automatically entitled to receive the title years later.

2017/18 — Manchester United

Manchester United finished second again in 2017/18, this time 19 points behind Guardiola’s record-breaking City side.Mourinho’s comments in 2024 specifically referred to this season and his belief that United could still theoretically be awarded the title if City were punished retrospectively.So, if the runners-up were simply retrospectively promoted into the vacant championship places, the hypothetical list would be:

That is a possible scenario rather than a confirmed outcome. There is currently no announced decision stating that these three clubs will inherit City’s titles if sanctions are imposed.

What punishment could Manchester City face?

The reported finding of 114 guilty charges has moved the case into its next stage, but it has not established what punishment City will receive. The independent commission has a range of sanctions available under the Premier League’s rules, and the club are expected to appeal the verdict.The potential punishments listed in the Premier League handbook are:

For now, the three title races remain officially unchanged: Manchester City are the champions of 2011/12, 2013/14 and 2017/18. The possibility of Manchester United receiving two of those titles and Liverpool receiving the other exists only if the eventual disciplinary process produces that outcome.