Shock waves were sent through the football world on Monday after it was announced that Manchester City have been charged by the Premier League with breaking financial rules.
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Allegations that the six-time Premier League champions made more than 100 breaches are the result of a four-year investigation into their various dealings under the ownership of the Abu Dhabi United Group.
City have been accused of breaking Premier League financial rules over the span of nine seasons between 2009-10 and 2017-18, as well as a further five seasons in which the league has claimed the club failed to cooperate with the independent investigation into their affairs.
While there is no precise precedent as far as punishment is concerned, potential sanctions could range anywhere from heavy fines and transfer embargoes to points deductions, enforced relegation and, theoretically, stripping City of their 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2017-18 titles.
Perhaps the closest example for comparison is from the mid-2000s when Juventus (among several other clubs) were found guilty of influencing match officials, resulting in the Bianconeri being relegated down to the second tier and stripped of two Serie A titles (2004-05 and 2005-06), the latter of which was handed to runners-up Inter Milan.
While unlikely, should City eventually be stripped of their titles there is a chance the teams that finished in second place in the seasons affected could be handed the honours by the Premier League, meaning that rivals Manchester United and Liverpool might both be in line to benefit as and when the ongoing investigation reaches its conclusion.
