Jesse Marsch says Man City should be relegated for financial breaches

Canadian men's soccer coach Jesse Marsch says Manchester City should be relegated for its financial breaches, claiming the club's spending was an open secret during his time managing in the Premier League. Marsch made the comments in an interview with The Guardian published Sunday, days after City was found guilty of 115 breaches of the league's financial rules. The former Leeds United manager said he witnessed glaring inconsistencies in how City operated compared to clubs like his own. City has denied wrongdoing and filed an appeal against the independent commission's ruling.

"I think Man City should be punished severely. I think they should have to go down, and by the way, everyone knew about it. Everyone knew," Marsch told The Guardian. The Premier League alleged City used "sham" commercial contracts to inflate revenue and understate costs by more than 900 million pounds over nine seasons from 2009-10 to 2017-18. The club said the verdict contained material errors and filed its appeal last week.

Marsch, who managed Leeds from 2022 to 2023, pointed to the 2022 summer transfer window as a prime example. He noted that Leeds and Manchester City were the only clubs that claimed to have made a profit that summer. Leeds sold Raphinha to Barcelona and Kalvin Phillips to City. "For us, we did make money, because we sold Raphinha, we sold Kalvin Phillips. We had a lot left over from what we bought," Marsch said. "At the time, we weren't in a position financially to not save. Our ownership didn't have deep pockets. Whereas when Man City says this, I was literally like, 'Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of joke?'"

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The American coach was also skeptical of City's reported signing of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund for 52 million pounds that same summer. "When they said they got Erling Haaland for £52m, it's like: 'Yeah, OK, sure!' So, I knew there were inconsistencies in it, but what can you do? You just put your arms in the air and go, 'This is football'," Marsch said. City's appeal will be heard privately by an independent three-member board. Potential sanctions include fines, points deductions and other sporting penalties, with relegation or the removal of titles also discussed as possible outcomes.

It remains unclear whether any sanctions would be imposed before the appeal is decided. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire suggested a points deduction in the range of 50 to 60 points could be appropriate if the breaches are upheld after appeal. "Given that the Man City offences took place over a longer period of time, therefore it's multiple offences over multiple years, you would expect a multiple of the points deductions that we've seen," Maguire told Football365. He noted that a deduction of more than 70 points would effectively relegate the club. Marsch is now head coach of the Canadian men's national team. Reuters reported it contacted Manchester City for comment on Marsch's remarks.

With files from CBC News, Football365 and Yahoo Sports