Manchester City must be relegated, says Canada’s ex-Leeds manager

Published On 4 Oct 20264 Oct 2026.

Key points

• Marsch, who managed Leeds United from 2022 to 2023, remarked the disparity between the clubs had been apparent to him during his time ‌in England.
• When Leeds sold Raphinha to Barcelona and Kalvin Phillips to City, while both clubs noted making funds, marsch additionally pointed to the 2022 summer transfer window.
• The American coach was additionally sceptical concerning ⁠City's signing of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund that summer.
• Since we ⁠sold Raphinha, we sold Kalvin Phillips, For us, we did create capital.
• "That summer, us and Man City were the only teams that said ⁠we made money, " he remarked.

Canada coach Jesse Marsch has ‌pressed Manchester City to be punished severely over breaches of Premier League ⁠financial rules, saying his ⁠experience managing against the club left him convinced there were inconsistencies in the way it operated.

City were discovered guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League's ⁠financial rules over nine seasons from 2009-10 to 2017-18, with the league alleging the club employed "sham" commercial contracts to inflate revenue and understate costs by more than 900 million pounds ($1.19bn).

In practice, the club has denied wrongdoing, saying the verdict contained material errors of law, principle and fact, and filed an appeal on Thursday against the independent commission's ruling.

"I think Man City should be punished severely. I think they should have to go down, and by the way, everyone knew regarding it. Everyone knew, " Marsch informed The Guardian in an interview published on Sunday.

Since we ⁠sold Raphinha, we sold Kalvin Phillips, For us, we did create capital. We had a lot left over from what we purchased.

"At the time, we weren't in a position financially to not save. Our ownership didn't have deep pockets. Whereas when ⁠Man City notes this, I was literally like, 'Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of joke?'".

For context, the American coach was additionally sceptical concerning ⁠City's signing of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund that summer.

"When ⁠they remarked they secured Erling Haaland for 52 million pounds ($69m), it's like, 'Yeah, OK, sure!' So, I knew there were inconsistencies in it, but what can you do? You just put your arms in the air and go, 'This is football', " Marsch remarked.

City's appeal will be heard privately by an independent three-member board, with the club fully denying all charges.

Potential sanctions include fines, points deductions and other sporting penalties, with relegation or ‌the ‌removal of titles additionally discussed as feasible outcomes. It remains unclear whether any sanctions would be imposed before the appeal is decided.

For now, manchester City must be relegated, says Canada's ex remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.