Former Chelsea Duo Face Premier League Sanctions As Man City Learn Verdict | OneFootball

Big news in the international break as Chelsea take stock of their start to the season.

Former Chelsea duo Enzo Maresca and Enzo Fernandez’s season is at risk after the Premier League found Manchester City guilty on 114 of the 115 charges relating to breaches of financial regulations.

Maresca and Fernandez are enjoying a fine start to the Premier League season, with Manchester City sitting at the top of the table with five wins from five matches.

However, the latest development may derail their campaign. According to The Athletic, the Premier League have now found Man City guilty on all but one of their 115 charges for breaches of the competition’s financial regulations.

No sanction has been officially announced, but it could include stripping the club of titles, a points deduction, a financial penalty, or even expulsion from the top flight. However, Man City are expected to appeal the verdict, unsurprisingly.

It remains unclear when the punishments will be decided, but any point deduction or an expulsion could benefit Chelsea’s season and objective of finishing in a Champions League spot. With Chelsea currently sitting 10th in the table, it is safe to say they would welcome any advantage they can get in the race for a top-five finish.

Additionally, many Blues fans likely felt resentful towards Man City for how they held negotiations with Maresca, who was still a Chelsea head coach, last year.

With Pep Guardiola’s future at the club unclear, Man City offered Maresca the chance to succeed the Spaniard, prompting his Chelsea departure on New Year’s Day in the middle of the season.

Man City ended up paying Chelsea £17 million in compensation in addition to a personal settlement with Maresca, but the damage was still done. Chelsea had to appoint Liam Rosenior to steady the ship, but it didn't pan out, costing him his job and the club a chance to play in a European competition this season.

This summer, Man City also acquired Fernandez, a key player for Chelsea over the past few seasons.

It would have been fine if the deal had gone smoothly, since Fernandez himself wanted to leave, but Man City decided to hold out on their offer until the deadline day of the summer window, leaving Chelsea with very little room to secure a replacement.

In the end, Man City paid an extra £5m on top of Chelsea’s initial £120m demand for the Argentina international, but the latter also failed to sign a replacement midfielder after a proposed move for AS Monaco’s Lamine Camara collapsed at the last minute.

It would not be a surprise, therefore, if some Chelsea fans see Man City’s guilty verdict as welcome news.