Man City transfer spree speaks volumes about 115 Premier League charges
After the commission went away to consider its verdicts, City have - understandably - carried on regardless. Business as usual. In fact, it has been business as usual … and then some.
With confirmation of a £46.3million deal for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, City's spending on new recruits in 2025 has gone past the £200million mark. When negotiating contracts for their clients, did the agents of Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Reijnders ask about the impending verdicts on the allegations that City breached Premier League regulations?
It is hard to think they did not. It is equally hard to believe the subject was not raised when Erling Haaland agreed a new nine-and-a-half year deal back in January.
Presumably, the representatives of Rayan Cherki - Lyon's attacking midfielder - will mention the issue in the final stages of discussions over a big-money move to the Etihad. Ditto when it comes to the anticipated negotiations with Wolves wing-back Rayan Aït-Nouri.
And it might even be raised when young, stellar talents - Sheffield Wednesday's 16-year-old striker Caelan Cadamarteri is the latest name to be linked - are being recruited for the academy this summer. Considering they are protesting their innocence on all charges, the City hierarchy was, of course, never going to do anything other than carry on regardless.
But the longer the delay in announcing the independent commission's verdicts and the more business City conducts in the transfer market, it is hard to imagine any punishments coming their way having hugely significant consequences. Such was the number of charges, there was initial speculation that punishment could consist of a points deduction so severe that it would inevitably mean relegation.
In the context of any outcome still being possible, that could still be the case. But the delay in reaching verdicts - verdicts that, presumably, could then be challenged - is only fuelling belief that an extreme sanction is unlikely.
One thing about the verdicts, though, is that they have to come soon. Gary Neville labelled the delay a 'disgrace' and 'an absolute stain to the game' and while he is probably not giving enough consideration to the myriad legal complexities, he has a point.
Pep Guardiola's City are about to travel to the Club World Cup - FIFA's new flagship version of the competition - as one of the two standard-bearers of the Premier League but with charges from that competition still hanging over them. The next Premier League season begins in just over a couple of months' time.
Sure, the commission has a hugely difficult and complex task. We know how much legal might City have put into defending themselves. We also know the verdicts could have serious implications for the Premier League's system of financial governance.
But if this delay goes on much longer - and if there is then an appeal by either side - the credibility of the whole process will be seriously questioned. And the Premier League cannot allow that to happen.
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