Following the seismic announcement of Manchester City being found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges levied against them for serious breaches of the Financial Fair Play Laws, the fact remains that Manchester City is not the biggest brand at risk here.
The Premier League itself is!
For years, the world has watched the financial battle between Manchester City and the Premier League.
The moment people stop believing that the rules matter, the rules aren’t your biggest problem. Your brand is.
However this was never just about creative accounting, it has been about trust, governance and integrity of the institution of sport.
Financial Fair Play means absolutely nothing if financial power can become bigger than the rules designed to govern it, and the spirit of fair but intense competition is heavily compromised through unfair advantage.
Equally, the regulatory bodies mean nothing if their rules cannot survive scrutiny. That’s why this is a pivotal moment in the history of sport.
City’s reputation is on the line, and so is the Premier League’s.
The Premier League sells more than football. It sells competitive integrity, and the fact that the richest clubs and teams with superstar players could still lose to teams with incredible mentality and fight.
The truth is that ambition can challenge establishment, that success has to be earned on the pitch, and that everyone ultimately plays under the same rules.
Lose belief in that and you don’t just weaken regulation, you weaken and degrade the product.
This isn’t simply Manchester City vs the Premier League.
→ It’s money vs governance.
→ Power vs regulation.
→ And brand vs trust.
Whatever happens next, one lesson should terrify every governing body, and that is that the moment people stop believing that the rules matter, the rules aren’t your biggest problem.
Your brand is.
