Manchester City handed UEFA update as 115 charges uncertainty looms | OneFootball

UEFA have announced venues for the 2026-27 Champions League final and 2026 Super Cup, with Manchester City looking to improve on their Round of 16 finish in Europe last term.

Pep Guardiola’s side suffered a premature exit from the UEFA Champions League last term, with Real Madrid smashing the Blues over two legs with an aggregate score of 6-2 reflecting the margin between City and their favourite opponents in Europe over the years.

After four consecutive Premier League title wins between 2021 and 2024, Manchester City endured a sobering 2024-25 campaign as injuries and a collective drop in hunger in an ageing, worn-out squad saw the Blues record their most underwhelming season under Guardiola.

However, Hugo Viana has taken his first transfer window as Manchester City’s director of football the scruff of the neck by spearheading the acquisition of seven new signings, including Gianluigi Donnarumma, Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Ait-Nouri.

City have made a dreadful start to the 2025-26 campaign with two defeats in their opening trio of Premier League games, with upcoming league games against Manchester United and Arsenal not making the schedule any easier for a side in transition.

Kevin De Bruyne is set to return to the Etihad Stadium in a few weeks’ time as Napoli visit Manchester City for their opening game of the new Champions League group-stage campaign, which could see Donnarumma make his European debut for City.

It is never quiet behind the scenes at the Etihad Stadium, with City confirming in a statement published this week that the club have settled a dispute over Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules with the Premier League, ending legal proceedings over the matter.

However, the footballing world is awaiting a verdict on Manchester City’s ongoing battle with the Premier League over their alleged 115 breaches of the league’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules between 2009-18 – 10 months on from hearings held by an independent commission on the case.

UEFA have this week confirmed that the 2026 Super Cup final will be held at Stadion Salzburg in Salzburg, with Manchester City eyeing a significant improvement on their Round of 16 finish in the Champions League in the recent season. It has also been announced that the 2027 Champions League final will be held at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.

City ended their long-held European hoodoo in historic fashion in 2023, with a 1-0 final win over Inter Milan securing a historic treble and maiden UEFA Champions League title triumph for the Blues after years of failing to get over the line under Guardiola.

A busy summer that has witnessed a change in guard is likely to mark a transitional period for the club, who failed to challenge for the Premier League title last term and underwent their worst spell of form in nearly two decades in the fall of 2024 – effectively ruling them out of the title race.

Guardiola and co need to get their act together and though a valiant second-place finish and effort to win the Premier League title will not be held against a new-look dressing room, Manchester City cannot afford to repeat their failures of last season after the investment made to rebuild the first-team squad since January.