The strength of the judgement against Manchester City, following their legal case with the Premier League, has shocked the club, its employees and their players. Most of those inside the City Football Academy (CFA) accept that the verdict -- made public for the first time on Tuesday -- is a worst-case scenario.
City insist they are innocent -- a message that's come from the top, namely chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and CEO Ferran Soriano -- and many employees want to give the club the benefit of the doubt. More than 700 employees attended a UK all-staff meeting in the first week of this three-week international break, while players are away on duty with their national teams. Soriano, in his video message to staff on Tuesday, insisted it should be business as usual, but there's genuine worry about what the future could hold.
One agent of a first-team player told ESPN that his client is "calm" about the situation and is happy with the public reassurances offered by senior executives. There is, though, an acceptance that things could change depending on the result of the appeal -- which must be lodged by the close of business on Friday, Oct. 2.
Speculation over considerable sporting sanctions is causing the most concern, sources tell ESPN. Another agent has told ESPN that the players -- many of whom arrived or penned new deals after February, 2023, when the charges were first announced -- knew what they were signing up for because possible punishments have been widely known for a while.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing