Jamie Carragher has publicly urged that Manchester City be stripped of the honours they have accumulated after an independent commission concluded that the club breached the Premier League's financial regulations in a serious manner. The commission determined that City were guilty of every charge relating to significant violations of the league's financial rules over the period covering the 2009/10 season through to the 2017/18 campaign. During those years the Citizens captured three Premier League crowns, lifted the FA Cup once, secured three League Cup victories and added a Community Shield to their cabinet.
The next step in the process will be a further hearing where the commission will decide on the appropriate sanctions. Manchester City, which continues to deny any wrongdoing, has said it will appeal the decision and has until Friday, 2 October, to lodge its challenge.
Potential punishments range from points deductions and hefty fines to transfer bans and even expulsion from the top flight. But the most dramatic scenario for fans and historians alike would be the removal of the titles and trophies themselves.
What would that actually look like? Manchester City claimed the league title three times between 2009/10 and 2017/18.
Their first triumph came in 2012 when they edged out Manchester United on the final day, thanks to Sergio Agúero's iconic last‑minute winner. Two years later, in 2014, they finished two points clear of Liverpool to claim a second crown. The third came in spectacular fashion in 2018 when they amassed a record 100 points, once again denying United the top spot. If the titles were simply handed to the runners‑up, the historical record would shift dramatically.
Manchester United would pick up two additional championships – one under Sir Alex Ferguson and another under Ole Gunnar Solskjær – raising the club's total to fifteen. Liverpool would be awarded a second Premier League trophy, adding to the one they won under Jürgen Klopp in 2020.
However, the Premier League is not obligated to re‑allocate the honours in that manner. A precedent exists from Italy, where Juventus had the 2004/05 Serie A title stripped after the Calciopoli scandal and the championship was left vacant. The English league could adopt a similar approach, leaving the 2012, 2014 and 2018 titles unassigned, effectively creating three blank years in the record books.
Another, more radical option would be to expunge Manchester City's league results for the nine seasons in question. Removing every City match from the tables would alter the points totals and final positions of dozens of clubs. While Manchester United and Liverpool would likely move into the top spot in the seasons where City finished first, the ripple effect would be far‑reaching. For example, Blackpool, in the 2010/11 season, would have avoided relegation if City’s points were erased, while Wolves would have been the team to drop instead.
The knock‑on consequences extend beyond the league table. In four of the nine seasons under scrutiny, Everton missed out on European competition because City finished above them.
In the 2013/14 campaign, Everton finished fifth and qualified for the Europa League, but the top four – including City as champions – earned Champions League places, pushing Everton down the hierarchy. Tottenham Hotspur also lost out on Champions League qualification in four seasons, being forced into the Europa League each time City occupied a higher slot. Other clubs suffered similar fates. Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea all missed out on Champions League football in at least one of those seasons due to City’s superior league position.
Liverpool, Swansea City and Southampton were denied European spots for the same reason. The loss of City’s results would therefore reshape the continental landscape, potentially altering the revenue and prestige that comes with Champions League participation. The impact is not limited to league standings. In the 2011 FA Cup final, Stoke City manager Tony Pulis, who was at the helm when City beat his side 1‑0 to claim their first major trophy in 35 years, said he felt "cheated" by the outcome.
If that victory were nullified, Stoke would retain the distinction of being FA Cup runners‑up rather than losing to a club later found to have broken the rules. City also collected three League Cups during the period – defeating Sunderland in 2014, Liverpool in 2016 and Arsenal in 2018 – as well as the 2012 Community Shield against Chelsea. Sunderland have not won a major trophy since their 1973 FA Cup triumph, and the 2016 League Cup win denied Jürgen Klopp his first piece of silverware. Likewise, Arsène Wenger missed out on a fitting farewell trophy in his final season at Arsenal when City prevailed on penalties at Wembley.
Beyond the immediate silverware, stripping City of their honours would raise broader questions about the integrity of competition, the effectiveness of financial fair play, and the precedent set for future violations. It would force the league to consider how to treat historical records when a club is found to have gained an unfair advantage. Would the league choose to leave the titles vacant, re‑allocate them to the next‑best teams, or rewrite the entire season’s results? Each option carries its own set of legal, logistical and emotional ramifications for clubs, players and supporters.
In summary, the removal of Manchester City’s titles would not merely adjust a few numbers on a spreadsheet; it would rewrite a decade of English football history, reshuffle European qualification, alter the trophy cabinets of multiple clubs, and set a lasting precedent for how financial misconduct is punished at the highest level. The final decision, whenever it is made, will reverberate through the sport for years to come.