Manchester City

[Losmeister]

Zizou the GOAT

More like - Klopp the GOAT.

He's been incredible and it's not his fault he's not managing Real or Bayern.

Nah

Winning a hat trick of CLs in his first three full seasons as manager?

One of the greatest managerial feats in history.

Madrid have had a slew of top managers over the past 15 years, Ancelotti and Mourinho have won 5 CLs between them yet they didn't come close to doing it with Madrid.

If it was as simple as managing Madrid = winning the CL it wouldn't have taken them so long to get La Decima.

On the face of it, you can't deny it.... and yet, since Zizou had no prior manager experience, what can we make of it.....? not tryna take away from him as I am a big fan... but... there's an element of fate, something quasi mystic about that three-peat...

Karius throwing the ball off Bezemas foot then Bales best goal ever then another Karious howler

[BS221B]

CL final didnt feature neither Messi or Ronaldo in the last seven years only twice. In both occasions, Klopp was the finalist who denied them in semis.

Liverpool vs Spurs - 2019 Klopp beat Barca in semis
Real Madrid vs Liverpool - 2018
Real Madrid v Juventus - 2017
Real Madrid vs Atlético Madrid - 2016
Barcelona vs Juventus - 2015
Real Madrid vs Atlético Madrid - 2014
Bayern München vs Borussia Dortmund - 2013 Klopp beat RM in semis

Meanwhile Pep didnt even get to semis with the most expensive squad in the history

[StLGooner]

Peps about to win back to back titles in the most competitive football league in the world simmer down.

[Zedie]

Peps about to win back to back titles in the most competitive football league in the world simmer down.

90 minutes away from a league and cup double. Hes in complete disarray.

[BS221B]

He should do that much with the most expensive squad in the history.

But Pep? CL?

[elkanofan]

UCL Finalists since Pep last made it to the Final:

Zidane x3
Klopp x3
Simeone x2
Allegri x2
Heynckes x2
Enrique
Ancelotti
Di Matteo
Pochettino

Di Matteo still cant get a job despite being a UCL winner.

[Sims]

Absolutely povvo manager who completely lucked it

A club would be mad to hire him

[Losmeister]

UCL is a thing... so is winning back to back leagues w/ 100 and 98 pts...

[Va-Va-Voom]

He should do that much with the most expensive squad in the history.

But Pep? CL?

Imagine laughing at Pep's CL record when he's won it twice and idolizing Wenger, who is by far the most underachiever manager in CL history.

Consider Poch has taken Spurs to the CL final yet Wenger couldn't even take out our best teams past the QFs - if they even got that far.

[BS221B]

And nothing wrong with it. It is absolutely rubbish to compare Pep with Wenger. They have never given equal grounds. Pep inherited a CL winning squad, and on top of it, he got likes Messi, Henry, Zlatan, Busq, David Villa, Alexis Sanchez and Pique. And Xavi and Iniesta, who were just hitting their primes. The same spine on Spanish NT had dominated international football without Pep managing them for like five years. So Pep was just at the right place at the same time at Barca.

We have seen what Pep is made of on Bayern and now on Manchester City. He is being constantly exposed in CL year by year and yet to pass semi finals (quarter on Manchester City lol) despite being given unlimited budget and pretty much any player he want. He is winning the league, sure but just look at the squad;

Danilo, Otamendi, Gabriel Jesus, Sane/Mahrez, Gundogan, John Stones and Mendy, who are sitting on bench. These players could be a starter in pretty much all top six teams in PL minus Liverpool. In fact, Minus Danilo and Mendy, many of them would start on absolutely top teams like Barca/Bayern/Juventus/Atletico Madrid.

I believe the second sentence is trolling? Wenger has taken us to the CL final like Poch, then to the semis three after it.

[Va-Va-Voom]

*Our best teams never went past the QFs.

The best Wenger teams were 2002-2004.

[Zenith]

Daily Mail

Manchester City are on the brink of being thrown out of the Champions League for breaching FFP rules. So, just what are they accused of? And who benefits if Pep Guardiola's side are ejected?

• Manchester City have been investigated for alleged Financial Fair Play breaches
• UEFA's judiciary panel are currently working on what sentence to hand down
• Indications from those on the board suggest they face Champions League ban
• But City have already appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on matter

Earlier this month, Manchester City appealed to the Court of Arbitration to Sport over a sentence that hasn't even been handed down yet.

It is symptomatic of the sometimes murky, always confusing process that is UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations.

With a decision expected soon, and with implications that affect not just City, here is all you need to know about the club's latest battle with UEFA.

So, what have City actually been accused of?
Back in November last year, German weekly Der Spiegel released a series of revelations about Manchester City, based on emails they had received from Football Leaks. In them, they revealed allegations that the club had used their sponsorship deal with Emirati airline Etihad to disguise investment from owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

One email suggested that, of the £67.5million deal in place between City and Etihad for 2015-16, only £8m would come directly from the airline – the other £59.5m would come from Abu Dhabi United Group – Mansour's own company he uses to run the club.

…And that's bad because?
Well, essentially this accusation suggests City have lied to UEFA. There is, of course nothing wrong with any owner investing in their club, however, under Financial Fair Play rules stipulated by UEFA, there is a limit on how much clubs can spend.

The rules are there to stop clubs operating at unsustainable losses, stipulating that teams that report losses of more than €30m (that's £27m) over a three-year period will face sanctions from the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB for short).

By allegedly disguising the owner's investments as sponsorship income, City would have been able to spend that extra £59.5m a year on transfers without it affecting their expenditure when it came to UEFA sifting through their books.

So what are UEFA doing?
It safe to say they've taken a pretty dim view of City's tactics in Nyon and they've acted swiftly. After taking on board the accusations, UEFA launched a formal investigation in March.

That took only two months to complete, and the case is already with the CFCB for final adjudication.

City have already lodged an appeal over the recommendation to the CFCB, saying there had been 'a basic lack of due process'.

What doesn't help the Premier League champions' cause is the fact this isn't the first time they've been hauled in front of the governing body's judicial arm.

Back in 2014, the club were fined a then record £49m and allowed to name just 21 players in their Champions League squad for the 2014-15 campaign. Their transfer budget was also capped at £49m.

That could look lenient in comparison to this time around.

What kind of punishment can they expect this time?
UEFA's top brass have not minced their words when asked about this themselves.

The CFCB's chief investigator Yves Leterme has insisted since January that City face 'the heaviest punishment', which taken to its extreme suggests that Pep Guardiola's side could be refused entry to to the Champions League.

Champions League ban sounds severe… is that likely?
It's almost certain. City may be one of the most recognisable clubs on the planet right now but UEFA know they must throw the book at them to give FFP the credence they believe it merits.

They haven't been afraid to ban well-supported clubs from UEFA competition in the past – Turkish giants Galatasaray were handed a two-year ban in March 2016 for failing to hold up their end of a break-even agreement with the CFCB.

In fact, as City's deal with Eithad was signed in 2015, UEFA may see it as a breach of their 2014 FFP agreement, which they exited in 2017.

If UEFA have proof they have been duped, then historically the system doesn't bode well for repeat offenders.

City have adamantly denied the allegations and said the emails were hacked or stolen and their contents taken out of context.

Can City do anything about this?
Well they're certainly trying. As mentioned earlier, City managed to negotiate an agreement in 2014 with the CFCB, but it's highly unlikely either side will want to deal with the other in those terms now.

The club remain adamant that they have done nothing wrong, regularly attacking the FFP process during their investigation, releasing a statement last month maintaining that the accusations are 'entirely false'.

In an attempt to head off the CFCB judgement, they have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to have the case thrown out.

That appeal was made earlier this month, but it won't stop UEFA's decision being handed down.

That being said, no ban will be implemented until the end of any appeals process. These can be long and drawn out so prepare for this saga to rumble on.

So what happens if they do get chucked out?
Well then it's good news for at least one of their Premier League rivals.

Due to the lengthy appeals process the likelihood is that any suspension from the competition will see City booted out for the 2020-2021 season.

If City can't take up their the spot, the next best-placed team in the Premier League would take it.

Given City's recent dominance in the top-flight that makes it reasonable to assume that fifth place will secure a Champions League spot for that season - a lifeline for the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal who finished fifth and sixth this year.

As a result, an extra Europa League spot would also open up, too.

It is all still a big if however. In May, it was expected that City's sentencing was merely 'days' away, but we're a month beyond that now.

With City already involving CAS, this messy situation is set to play out long beyond this summer.

[ESR10]

This could be our rescue. We will have the CL money and a much bigger budget to operate upon.

Let's hope the best the next days

[Power n Glory]

The days of owners pumping millions into clubs are over.

[Phil71]

Fingers crossed