One of the biggest stories in the Premier League over the past few years has focused on Manchester City, as they await the final verdict on the 115 charges brought against the club for allegedly violating financial regulations.
The hearing into the club’s alleged violations concluded way back in December 2024 following a 12-week tribunal. Despite ending over 12 months ago, the independent commission has still to make its findings public. The Etihad outfit continune to deny any wrongdoing.
It’s unclear what Man City’s final punishment will be if found guilty, but there have been plenty of theories as to what it might be. Some experts have suggested a 60-point deduction could be handed out. There are others who also believe the club should be stripped of any titles won during this period.
As such, that would mean teams that finished second during Man City’s Premier League-winning campaigns could be in line for a belated trophy. Arsenal have been runners-up in the past three seasons, twice losing out to Pep Guardiola’s men, so might expect to be in luck if a punishment is dished out.
However, if Man City are stripped of their titles, the Gunners likely won’t be compensated with a late Premier League award. This is because the charges brought against the club are for allegedly violating financial regulations between 2009 and 2018.
During this time, Arsenal did not finish second behind Man City. That said, three other English teams did.
Manchester United – 2011/12
Nobody will ever forget Man City’s incredible title win of 2011/12. It was, of course, the season that went down to the wire before Sergio Aguero fired Roberto Mancini’s side to glory with a last-gasp strike against Queens Park Rangers.
This led to heartbreak for Manchester United on the final day of the season, with Wayne Rooney still angry about the events to this day. If the Cityzens are found guilty, though, their first-ever Premier League win could actually be handed to the Red Devils.
It would be ironic to see the title that was taken away from Man Utd at the very last moment eventually ending up at Old Trafford over 10 years later. There’s a joke about Fergie time in there somewhere.
Liverpool – 2013/14
The 2013/14 will be remembered for a few reasons. Luis Suarez had an astonishing season, scoring 31 goals and winning the Player of the Season award. More notably, however, it was the campaign in which Steven Gerrard urged his Liverpool teammates to ‘not let it slip’ before he quite literally did just that.
The Reds were five points clear at the top before taking on Chelsea and losing, with their captain falling over at a costly moment in the game. They then blew a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 against Crystal Palace, allowing Man City to overtake them and win the title by two points.
Gerrard has long since retired but would perhaps be able to exorcise some demons if he was able to finally get his hands on a league title after all these years.
Manchester United – 2017/18
While Man City have most famouly gone toe-to-toe with Liverpool and Arsenal in recent title challenges, it’s actually Manchester United who would be set to land a second Premier League if action is taking against their Etihad rivals. Guardiola’s men stormed to victory in 2017/18, with a record 100 points.
Jose Mourinho’s side, on the otherhand, finished way off the pace on 81 points. Despite that huge deficit, the Norweigan could potentially become the first man at Old Trafford to deliver a league title since Sir Alex Ferguson. What’s more, these two belated Premier Leagues would mean that Man Utd have the most titles of any team in England, with 22 in total, while Liverpool would have 21 (both currenlty sit tied on 20).
Man City have since won the league in 2018/19, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24 but as these all have come outside of the period in which the club are alleged to have violated financial regulations (between 2009 and 2018), they would likely retain them.