How Manchester City case is different to Chelsea’s after Blues got lenient punishment

Manchester City has been found guilty of 114 out of 115 charges pertaining to alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations, while Chelsea received a more lenient punishment. The Citizens plan to appeal the findings, fearing they may face fines, point deductions, or even expulsion from the competition. Supporters of Manchester City argue that Chelsea’s lenient punishment may lead to the same outcome for their club.

The differences between the two cases are numerous. BlueCo, Chelsea’s new owners, discovered illegal payments totaling over £47.5 million that were not reported to the league. Chelsea cooperated fully with the investigations after self-reporting the issues. However, Manchester City chose to engage in aggressive, high-stakes legal battles instead of cooperating with the authorities.

Additionally, Chelsea benefited from the fact that Roman Abramovich, who was no longer involved with the club, made the illegal payments. City’s Abu Dhabi ownership, which has been in charge since 2008, cannot claim a change in leadership to help their case.