Man City FFP: Ranking Guardiola’s 26-man squad on exit likelihood if guilty verdict leads to relegation | OneFootball

We are closing in on the end of 2026, but somehow, Manchester City FFP remains a hot topic as the Premier League club are yet to be found guilty or cleared of their 115 charges.

It is nearly three – yes, THREE – years since it first emerged that the Premier League had charged Man City over alleged breaches of their FFP rules between 2009 and 2018, but no one really has a clue when this situation will resolve.

This is despite the long-awaited City vs Premier League hearing concluding around this time last year, and it being reported that the initial verdicts, which would obviously be subject to appeal, were to be announced in March this year.

Man City have had success in the separate APT hearing against the Premier League, though it remains to be seen whether this will have a knock-on effect on the case. Nobody has a clue, but everyone cannot wait for this tiresome saga to be over.

Assuming Man City are eventually found guilty, their punishment would likely range from a fine to a transfer ban, points deduction and/or expulsion from the Premier League.

Talk over relegation is more out of hope than expectation from rival supporters, and a fine feels like the most underwhelming but realistic outcome.

But there is no fun in that, so let’s enter the fantasy realm and consider the possible consequences of relegation from the Premier League, which would surely lead to a substantial exodus as some players would not fancy playing in the Championship or below for a year or more.

So with that, here is a ranking of Man City’s 26-man squad for the 2025/26 campaign from least to most likely to leave post-expulsion…

26th) Marcus Bettinelli

The former Chelsea and Fulham goalkeeper only joined Man City in the summer. He is currently their fourth-choice goalkeeper, but he would surely be their second choice if they got relegated. What’s not to like?

25th) Nico O’Reilly

O’Reilly is coming off one of the biggest nights of his career as he impressed in his first senior start for England. On the evidence of this match, loads more caps are to come, but the 20-year-old has plenty of time and can certainly afford to stick around and play every week in the Championship.

24th) Abdukodir Khusanov

During his absence due to an ankle injury, Khusanov has fallen in the pecking order as the “best right-back in the world” has emerged, but his situation is similar to O’Reilly’s: he is a project for Man City, and relegation would not impact him too much.

23rd) James Trafford

Relegation to a lower league is Trafford’s only hope of being a consistent starter for Man City after his summer transfer decision went wrong almost instantly.

22nd) Rico Lewis

Lewis has had a rough ride over the past year or so and could do worse than leave Man City to play more regularly, but relegation would provide him with that opportunity at his boyhood club.

21st) Kalvin Phillips

Yes, Phillips is somehow still a Man City player. It goes to show how poor his move to the Etihad has been that not even Leeds United would sign him in the summer. His next move will likely be to the Championship, but he could kill two birds with one stone and play there with his current side.

20th) Oscar Bobb

City supporters were hoping that this would be Bobb’s season to break out after recovering from a broken leg. It has not been quite that so far, though the boyhood club factor has placed him this far down the ranking.

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19th) Nico Gonzalez

As Phillips found out, it is a difficult task to fill in for Rodri, but Gonzalez has been doing a far better job. He will inevitably have the opportunity to do so permanently should the worst happen with Man City’s FFP case.

18th) Phil Foden

Again, the homegrown player factor ensures Foden is not placed where he should be on this list based on talent. You could see him remaining loyal to Man City while they return to the Premier League at the earliest opportunity.

17th) Matheus Nunes

Nunes could be the “best right-back in the world”, as alluded to above. This recent praise from Guardiola is a fine example of great man-management, but he is among six Premier League stars experiencing an unexpected resurgence.

16th) Rayan Ait-Nouri

Another summer signing who would likely give Man City grace with relegation, as he’s barely got his foot in the door at this stage.

15th) Mateo Kovacic

Relegation or not, it appears that Man City are preparing to let Kovacic leave in the coming months, but the 31-year-old has limited options compared to their other players and his experience would be handy in the division below.

14th) Rayan Cherki

Cherki is yet to hit his stride for Man City, but the match against Liverpool was something of a coming-out party for the former Lyon star. He would have bloody good fun in the Championship as an Adel Taarabt regen.

13th) Tijani Reijnders

I see Reijnders as the second most likely of Man City’s summer signings to leave post-relegation. He’s an unbelievable talent who can play for any club in the world.

12th) Savinho

Savinho to Spurs was one of the summer’s more surprising transfer stories and this could resurface with Man City in the division below.

11th) Omar Marmoush

After settling in so well last season, Marmoush has been a sizable disappointment for Man City this season as he has very much been in Erling Haaland’s shadow. Still, most clubs in Europe would happily take him off their hands.

10th) Ruben Dias

Dias remains one of Europe’s best centre-backs, and like many other Man City players, he will have plenty of suitors. However, he is also slightly older than another centre-back and his contract, which runs until 2029, would be a prohibitive factor.

9th) Nathan Ake

Ake has proven to be a very useful player for Man City in recent years as he has played far more than expected, but he has been left behind during their rebuild and is currently only a bit-part player. He was linked elsewhere in the summer and relegation would give him another reason to leave.

8th) Stefan Ortega

Surprisingly, Ortega stuck around at Man City after failing to take his opportunity ahead of Ederson last season, and he is currently out in the wilderness as their third-choice goalkeeper. He’s due to be out of contract next year, so he will surely be gone then, though.

7th) Josko Gvardiol

One of Guardiola’s many revolutions at City has been turning Gvardiol into a goalscoring left-back, but he has returned to his natural position at centre-half this season. Still only 23, there is loads more to come from him and he’d be foolish to waste his time in a lower division.

6th) Gianluigi Donnarumma

The same can be said for Donnarumma really. The 26-year-old only joined Man City in the summer, but he has already proven to be a major coup at £30m as he’s seamlessly settled into Premier League life. It would be fun to see him go up against your Kieffer Moores and Carlton Morris’ in the Championship, but he would probably swerve those battles.

5th) John Stones

Stones remains a vital player for England, but he has had a reduced role at Man City in recent years and his contract is due to expire at the end of this season. A fresh challenge elsewhere feels inevitable for the 31-year-old next year.

4th) Jeremy Doku

Doku tore Liverpool to shreds before the international break and it would be a major shot in the arm for Man City if he can perform at those levels consistently in the coming months. If so, he can usher himself in as one of the club’s most valuable assets and would make him ripe for a transfer to a European giant.

3rd) Bernardo Silva

Silva has seemingly been pretty close to leaving Man City on a couple of occasions in the last few years and he may finally get a move to Barcelona once his contract is up in the summer.

2nd) Rodri

The Ballon d’Or winner is yet to prove that he’s past his injury woes, as he’s been held back by niggles this season. It does feel pretty likely that he will have another spell in La Liga before his career ends and relegation would expedite this process. The Real Madrid-obsessed media in Spain want him there…