Dan Roan
BBC sports editor

Back in 2019, while City were being investigated by Uefa, and in the wake of the allegations about payments to Roberto Mancini, Pep Guardiola reacted furiously when asked during a news conference following the FA Cup final if he had ever received similar payments.

Guardiola replied: "Honestly, do you think I deserve to have this type of question, the day we won the [domestic] Treble, did I receive money? Are you accusing me of receiving money?"

The journalist involved explained that he had previously asked City, but in the absence of an answer, felt he had little choice but to question the manager.

Guardiola has always backed his bosses publicly, even when, in 2020, City were given a two-year ban from European competitions by Uefa for alleged FFP breaches, a suspension that was eventually overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Two years later, Guardiola said he would walk away from City if he felt the club's hierarchy had ever lied to him. "They explain and I believe them," he said.

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Conclusions will inevitably be drawn from today's breaking news coming weeks after Pep Guardiola stepped down as manager, one year before the end of his contract.

Guardiola said City need "new energy" after he guided them to 17 major trophies in 10 years, and will take up a global ambassadorial role with the City Football Group (CFG) and offer technical advice to its member clubs.

Guardiola's departure comes a year after his close friend Txiki Begiristain - who played a key role in persuading Pep to join City - stepped down as City's director of football.

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BBC Sounds

If you're after some in-depth analysis of Manchester City's charges, BBC Radio 5 Live have you covered with a four-part audio series.

Clive Myrie tells the football story of the century: the Premier League vs Man City.

Listen here on BBC Sounds

Yasin Patel, barrister at Church Court Chambers, on what Manchester City will do next: "City’s lawyers will now analyse this decision and look at the options open to them to appeal, which may include procedural impropriety, wrongful interpretation of law, and legal errors - importantly, they can guarantee an appeal.

"Sanctions could include a major fine, points deduction, relegation or even all three. Factoring in whether titles and trophies should be stripped, whether other clubs have been robbed of further revenue and opportunities due to City’s wrongdoings and losses incurred, we safely say that this is only the first chapter of a long-running legal saga that will not end any time soon."

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

Everton were the first Premier League club to be sanctioned for breaching the top-flight's financial rules in November 2023, deduced 10 points which was reduced to six on appeal.

It is understood the Toffees hierarchy will be curious observers to see the official outcome of City's case and how the independent panel came to their ruling.

In Everton's case, there were wide variations in ruling from their initial 10-point deduction, with a three-person appeal board concluding that the independent commission which imposed that penalty "made legal errors" on two grounds.

If you're just joining us, here's a summary of the story so far...

Simon Bajkowski
Chief Manchester City reporter at the Manchester Evening News

On the one hand, there won't be anything today that takes away from the memories that Manchester City fans have had; winning those Premier League titles, the Champions League final, they will say they are our memories and you cannot take those away from us. And that will be true for Pep Guardiola and the players as well.

But from outside of the walls of Manchester City, everyone else will be saying 'you might think they're authentic, but they're not and we're not treating them as authentic'. So all of their success and all of the bragging rights that City fans have had for 10, 15 years will now be turned back in the face and said 'you did it illegally, you cheated, so it's not worth anything'. And that success will be disputed.

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BBC Radio 5 Live

Man City fan David Mooney from the Blue Moon podcast speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live: "It's a really weird feeling to process. It's been such a good time over this last 10 years or so, it questions your own experience.

"You can't take away the moments that you have had and the feelings that you experienced at the time but when you look back at them retrospectively and with a different lense, it does change how you feel about them.

"I'm a bit shocked and stunned about how to process it and I imagine as times goes on it will just come with a tinge of disappointment more than anything else.

"If we're talking small violins territory here, if Manchester City are guilty then the City fans are just as much the victims in this as everybody else because their feelings have been used as well. It's just that they had a good time for 10 years and now have to face reality."

Manchester City

Manchester City won eight trophies in the period covered by the case (2009-2018), including three Premier League titles, three League Cups, one Community Shield and one FA Cup.

The 2010-11 FA Cup was City's first major trophy in 35 years, while the 2011-12 Premier League title was the first of eight they have won.

One allegation City faced was that they made secret 'off-the-books' payments to previous manager Roberto Mancini via consultancy fees from a club in Abu Dhabi. City and Mancini deny this.

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BBC Radio 5 Live

At 19:00 (BST) today, there will be a special show on BBC Radio 5 Live dedicated to this breaking story.

A special edition of the Football Daily podcast will also be released this evening.

Make sure to tune in.

Last month, the Premier League's chief executive, Richard Masters, told BBC Sport that a verdict on the charges facing Manchester City had "taken longer than expected".

"It's hugely complex. The hearing took 12 weeks," added Masters.

Meanwhile, his counterpart at Arsenal, Richard Garlick, said all teams in the Premier League needed "clarity" on the situation.

"It's not something that I can speculate on," said Garlick. "I just hope that there is a solution very quickly."

Kieran Maguire
Football finance expert on BBC 5 Live

Following the acquisition of Chelsea by Roman Abramovich and then Manchester City by Sheikh Mansour, we've seen similar, of course, with Paris Saint-Germain. The football authorities in both Europe and the Premier League itself didn't want somebody to be able to buy a title. They wanted some form of more level playing field. And that's why these rules were introduced.

They are complicated. They are messy. They have created a cottage industry in their own rights, but they have helped to reduce the ability of individuals or organisations to simply spend and not worry about the consequences.

BBC News

You can watch live BBC News coverage of this story at the top of this page - click 'Watch Live'.

It has been more than three years since Manchester City were charged.

Since then clubs including Everton and Nottingham Forest have been charged with breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and received point deductions.

So why has City's case taken so much longer to resolve?

In short, the magnitude of the City case is vast compared to that of Everton and Forest. Essentially, they both stood accused of making losses greater than £150m over the course of a three-year period. Both were cut-and-dry cases to which their was little defence.

Meanwhile, City face over 115 charges covering several areas of financial regulations spanning a nine-year period. Some of the allegations, such as the Premier League's assertion that City disguised equity funding as sponsorship contributions, are far more complicated than simply spending too much.

Kieran Maguire
Football finance expert on BBC News

We can broadly divide [what Man City are being accused of] in to three elements; first of all, an accusation of not complying with the Premier League investigation in to the club's finances.

Secondly, disguising money from the owners - which was effectively a gift from the owners - as sponsorship income. The reason that is important is because under the Premier League rules, clubs were only allowed to lose £115m over three years. By disguising money as sponsorship income, it helps to reduce the losses.

The third accusation is that individuals were being paid off-book. Effectively, an employee - that could be a manager or player - would have a contract to play for Manchester City, but there has also been accusations that they were also being paid by Abu Dhabi organisations which are indirectly or directly connected to the club owner. Therefore, this would reduce the costs and reduce the losses incurred.

Andy Swiss
Sports news correspondent on BBC Radio 5 Live

This has been one of football's longest running sagas.

We're in uncharted territory. We need to emphasise if Manchester City have been found guilty of these charges - they have always strongly denied these charges.

The disciplinary panel has limitless powers. Would Manchester City get points deductions? Would they be kicked out of the Premier League? Would they get a huge fine? We simply don't know.

We are waiting for confirmation from either Manchester City or the Premier League that there has been an outcome to these charges.

Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

Is the biggest cloud that has been lingering over Manchester City and the Premier League for over three years about to clear?

Well, not quite.

City say in a statement that the "process remains ongoing" but it is understood in the event of a defeat in the case, City will appeal against the findings.

We don't know how long this process would take.

In terms of sanctions, Everton and Nottingham Forest have been docked points in the past for breaching financial rules - would City receive a similar punishment?

Or could it be more severe such being stripped of some of the league titles they have won or even relegation to the Football League?

There are plenty of questions that will come up and this may drag on for a while yet.

Sami Mokbel
BBC Sport Senior football correspondent

Other Premier League clubs are believed to have been informed about the decision in the Manchester City case.

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Manchester United

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has wasted no time having his say following reports that Manchester City have been found guilty of nearly all 115 financial charges levelled against them.

Ferdinand was part of the Manchester United team that finished second to Manchester City in the 2011-12 Premier League season.

Writing on X on Friday afternoon, Ferdinand said: "Another Premier League medal to be added to the cabinet."

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