In English top-flight soccer, Manchester City broke a 136-year record on Sunday by defeating West Ham 3-1 to win the Premier League for a record-tying fourth season.
The historic championship came down to the last day of play, where Man City needed to defeat Arsenal, who finished 2-1 ahead of Everton, in order to move up to second place. If Man City had lost or drawn, the trophy would have gone to Arsenal.
Rather, City rejoiced at winning its sixth Premier League title in seven years.
Following Man City’s season-long triumph last season—which included winning the English Premier League, the English soccer league’s FA Cup, and Europe’s Champions League—no English club has ever won four league titles in a row. With $891 million in revenue for the year, Man City broke the Premier League record and increased revenue over 16% from the previous year.
Under the direction of renowned Catalan coach Pep Guardiola, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan’s team has become a soccer powerhouse, winning 16 trophies. City has become a major power in world soccer because to Sheikh Mansour’s financial resources as a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi and the club’s willingness to invest in elite players.
But there is a cloud above the team wearing sky-blue shirts. The EPL accused Man City of violating the league’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and Financial Fair Play (FFP) in February 2023; some of the accusations were made as far back as 2009. Since then, Manchester City has adamantly denied any wrongdoing, and the case has progressed slowly and in secret. There could be penalties, suspensions, or even demotion in this situation.
After being found guilty of violating UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules in 2018, City was given a two-year ban from the Champions League. The verdict was overturned by the club when it filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
This season, two clubs—Everton and Nottingham Forest—were fined for breaking Premier League financial regulations. They lost points, which put them in danger of dropping to the lower division, but both teams were able to finish in the top level.
Manchester City is valued at $4.75 billion, making it the sixth most valuable club among the top 50 most valuable soccer franchises in the world. Sheikh Mansour purchased City in 2008 for $388.5 million.