The Clubs That Would Be Crowned Premier League Champions If Man City Are Stripped of Titles
English soccer was shaken to its core on Friday as the outcome of the Premier League’s protracted investigation into Manchester City’s alleged financial misconduct was revealed.
The Cityzens have reportedly been found guilty of 114 breaches of financial fair play between 2009 and 2018, despite consistently protesting their innocence.
The club will appeal the verdict, which means a final punishment will be delayed, but there is mass speculation that they could be stripped of the three Premier League titles won during a nine-year period of alleged misconduct.
If such extreme retribution is enacted, one crucial question will then be posed: Will City merely have to renounce their titles, or will the clubs who finished behind them in the affected seasons be retrospectively crowned champions?
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Which Clubs Could Retrospectively Win Premier League Titles?
While City’s dominance of English soccer under Pep Guardiola was built on seemingly tainted foundations, the prevailing presumption is that only Premier League titles won between 2009 and 2018 could be redistributed.
In that eventuality, the league titles collected by City at the end of the 2011–12, 2013–14 and 2017–18 campaigns would be impacted.
The club’s first-ever Premier League trophy was won during 2011–12 following the most dramatic moment in competition history. Sergio Agüero’s legendary winner in stoppage time on the final day of the season clinched Roberto Mancini and his players the title on goal difference alone.
Finishing unfortunate runners-up to City that season were their neighbors Manchester United, who could potentially benefit from the punishment handed out to their fierce rivals. In this alternate reality, Sir Alex Ferguson would add a 14th Premier League title to his personal collection.
But Man Utd would actually move to 15 Premier League crowns overall having also finished second during the 2017–18 season under José Mourinho—despite finishing 19 points behind City’s centurions.
Liverpool would also add a third Premier League title to their trophy cabinet after finishing narrowly behind Manuel Pellegrini’s Cityzens during the 2013–14 season. A team led by Brendan Rogers and inspired by Luis Suárez’s brilliance finished only two points behind the champions.
It must be said, however, that City forfeiting their Premier League titles appears extremely unlikely—and even more so is the prospect of them also being forced to surrender the trophies collected beyond 2018. Guardiola masterminded five subsequent Premier League victories between 2019 and 2024.
If City were stripped of those titles as well, then Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd would all profit.
Jürgen Klopp’s Reds would receive two more trophies for the 2018–19 and 2021–22 campaigns, Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s United would be crowned 2020–21 champions and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal would be winners in 2022–23 and 2023–24.
Every Premier League Title Won By Man City
Season | Runner-Up |
|---|---|
2011–12 | Manchester United |
2013–14 | Liverpool |
2017–18 | Manchester United |
2018–19 | Liverpool |
2020–21 | Manchester United |
2021–22 | Liverpool |
2022–23 | Arsenal |
2023–24 | Arsenal |
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