Manchester City receives two-year Champions League ban for FFP violation

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It's a rough day in Manchester.

On Friday, Manchester City received a two-year ban from the Champions League by UEFA and were fined 30 million euros for a violation for the Financial Fair Play Regulations (FFP). Manchester City have said they will appeal the decision immediately.

The Blues, the reigning Premier League champions, tried to have the case dismissed in November on procedural grounds, but the court denied their appeals. The Champions League is the richest competition in European soccer and the trophy Man City covets the most. There's no doubt they will go back to court now in an effort to get the ban repealed.

So, what exactly did Man City do?

To keep it simple, clubs aren't allowed to spend more money than they earn. The rules were put in place to prevent teams from threatening their long-term survival by overspending in the pursuit of titles.

Man City inflated their sponsorship revenue numbers so their owner could pump his money into the club to acquire more talent. 

It would be like James Dolan circumventing the NBA salary cap by having Cabelvision sponsor the Knicks.

Being banned from the Champions League means Man City will play fewer games and be fresher for PL play, but missing out on the massive checks, ticket sales and the like that come with the Champions League could hamper the club financially. The lack of ability to play in the Champions League might also hamper their ability to lure top players and might even cost them head coach Pep Guardiola, who has said if he doesn't win a CL title at Man City then he is a failure. 

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Manchester City should have just said their cheating didn't impact the games. Worked for the Houston Astros.

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