Ex-Man City player calls for seven-year punishment over financial breaches

A former Manchester City defender Danny Mills has called for the club to face a severe punishment spanning seven seasons over their alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules.

Mills, speaking exclusively to GB News through in a Saturday report, argued that a one-season punishment would be insufficient, saying the sanctions should reflect the period covered by the most serious charges.

Manchester City have been charged with more than 100 alleged breaches of Premier League rules.

The club has appealed against the verdict.

Explaining why relegation to the Championship might be unfair to clubs in the second tier, Mills said City would retain a squad capable of dominating the division.

“I think that makes it unfair on teams in the EFL, I would say, because City will still have the strongest squad by some distance,” he said.

He added that City’s first-team players, reserves, under-21s and players out on loan would give the club a significant advantage over Championship sides.

“If a few players left, they’d blitz the Championship. So you’re taking away a promotion spot from someone in the Championship. Is that fair? Not really, I would say,” Mills said.

He also questioned the financial benefits Championship clubs would gain from hosting City, arguing that a single match would not necessarily generate substantial additional revenue.

“It’s not like you’re going to make massive revenue off Manchester City. The TV deal is not going to suddenly change because Man City are in the Championship for a season,” he said.

Mills said the punishment should be severe and cover the period in which the alleged financial breaches occurred.

“So I think the punishment has to be fair, harsh, and I would say probably over the course of seven seasons,” he said.

He added, “I know there’s 114 charges, but I think the seven most serious charges are for that seven-season period where they’ve been found guilty of financial doping, effectively.”

Mills said a one-season sanction would not be enough to reflect the seriousness of the case.

“So, if it were me, I think a very harsh punishment for a seven-year period would be fair, because one season does nothing. It becomes irrelevant,” he said.

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Mills predicts hostile atmosphere against Liverpool

Mills also anticipated a hostile atmosphere when Manchester City face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, saying supporters could use chants, banners and flags to express their views about the club.

“It’s actually one I’d like to play in, I think. As a player, you want to play in these sort of games – incredibly hostile,” he said.

He added that the crowd’s reaction would make the occasion interesting.

“Football fans are clever. They’ll come up with some interesting signs, some clever flags, some banners and some great songs, no doubt. So that’ll be quite interesting in itself,” Mills said.

He described the match as an opportunity for City to respond to the hostility by adopting a siege mentality.

“It’s an easy team talk from Maresca: ‘The world hates us. Liverpool hates us. Let’s go out there and beat them,’” he said.

Mills also questioned whether players would have joined City if the club had not enjoyed its past success, but said it would be difficult for rival managers to use the financial charges as a rallying cry.

“It’s a hard sell for the players. The players are looking and going: ‘Really? That’s your team talk?’ So I leave that to the fans. I think Liverpool will just deal with it as a normal game,” he said.

Mills said City could use the prospect of widespread opposition to motivate their players.

“As I said, it’s a siege mentality: ‘The world, everybody wants us to lose today. Every single non-Manchester City fan wants us to get beat 3-0 or 4-0 and get it handed to us. Go out there and make sure that doesn’t happen.’

“So, I think it’s an easy game for City to play, almost,” he said.

PUNCH Online reports Mills played for City from 2004 to 2009, having joined the club on a free transfer from Leeds United in July 2004.

He made 51 league appearances for City, scoring once, and had loan spells at Hull City, Charlton Athletic and Derby County before being released in 2009.