So if Manchester City didn’t win, who did? In the alternate reality of English football, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is a Premier League champion, having led Manchester United to an unlikely title in 2021. So is Brendan Rodgers, who ended Liverpool’s drought in 2014. That same season, Everton qualify for the Champions League, earning them a substantial financial windfall and allowing them to attract some of the best players in Europe. Perhaps now they are one of the powerhouses of the sport, rather than a listing ship desperately fighting relegation to the Championship.
On 6 February, the Premier League announced that it was pursuing Manchester City for more than 100 alleged breaches of financial rules going back to 2009 – essentially, accusing it of cheating for the past 14 years. On one level this is a process story about accounting practices, financial reporting, alleged payments to players and staff via third parties. And yet it is a case that strikes at the essence of the game itself.
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