Manchester City’s ongoing FFP charges have created one of the biggest controversies in modern English football. The allegations concern a long period of the club’s history and, regardless of the eventual outcome, have raised questions about the achievements built during Manchester City’s dominant era. While the legal process must ultimately determine what happened, the controversy has already created uncertainty around the legacy of some of the biggest figures and teams of the Premier League era. Here are four of the biggest potential losers.
4. The Manchester City Golden Generation
The players who formed Manchester City’s golden generation arguably have the most complicated relationship with the controversy. On one hand, it is important to acknowledge that the players themselves cannot be blamed for alleged financial or regulatory breaches they had no role in committing.
Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany, David Silva and other City legends simply went onto the pitch and performed at an extraordinary level. Their trophies, records and individual performances were built through years of elite football.
However, that argument does not completely solve the problem when discussing legacy. If the allegations are eventually proven and are shown to have materially affected City's competitive position, questions will inevitably be asked about the environment in which those achievements were produced.
That could leave an uncomfortable shadow over what was otherwise one of the greatest teams in Premier League history. The players may not have done anything wrong, but their hard work and achievements could still be viewed differently decades from now.
3. Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City career has widely been regarded as one of the greatest managerial stints in Premier League history.
Under Guardiola, City transformed into an almost relentless winning machine. They dominated English football, broke records and developed a style of possession-based football that influenced teams around the world.
Yet the FFP controversy creates an uncomfortable question surrounding his legacy. Guardiola's tactical brilliance and coaching achievements can be separated from the club's financial affairs, but historians looking back at this era may not make that distinction so easily.
If serious wrongdoing is ultimately established, Guardiola's remarkable trophy haul could inevitably be discussed alongside the circumstances surrounding Manchester City's rise. That does not erase his tactical genius, but it could tarnish what was widely viewed as the greatest modern-day era for a Premier League manager.
2. Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool
Perhaps no team outside Manchester City would feel the consequences more painfully than Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.
Liverpool were exceptional during the same period, yet repeatedly found themselves finishing just short of major honours because Manchester City produced extraordinary numbers. The margins were often incredibly small, with individual matches and tiny points differences deciding Premier League title races.
Klopp's Liverpool pushed City harder than almost anyone else. They won the league once with an extraordinary points total and finished runners-up despite producing seasons that would have been title-winning campaigns in many other eras.
That creates a massive "what if?" If Manchester City's alleged breaches are eventually proven to have provided a competitive advantage, Liverpool supporters will inevitably wonder whether their team deserved more silverware.
The painful part is that Klopp's side did almost everything right. They simply encountered a City team capable of operating at an extraordinary level year after year.
1. Steven Gerrard
For Steven Gerrard, the situation could be even more heartbreaking.
For years, the defining image of Gerrard's Premier League career has been his infamous slip against Chelsea during Liverpool's 2013/14 title challenge. That moment has often been portrayed as the incident that ultimately cost one of the greatest players in Premier League history his first league title.
But Liverpool's failure that season was not solely about one mistake. Manchester City eventually finished top after another incredibly tight title race, meaning every dropped point mattered.
If Manchester City's FFP charges are eventually proven to have played a meaningful role in their competitive advantage, the historical narrative surrounding Gerrard could change dramatically. Decades from now, people may look back and question whether that slip really was what cost him the title.
For a player of Gerrard's calibre, that would be nothing less than heartbreaking. His career already contains an enormous number of achievements, but a Premier League winner's medal remains one of the major omissions. If the circumstances surrounding City's dominance are ultimately judged differently, Gerrard's story could become one of football's biggest "what ifs."