Gary Neville raises Man City transfer suspicions ahead of hearing into 115 Prem charges

Gary Neville questioned whether Manchester City’s impending hearing into their 115 alleged breaches of Premier League rules is behind their uneventful transfer window. Pep Guardiola’s side have made just one signing this summer on the back of their record fourth Premier League triumph, with Brazilian winger Savinho arriving in a £21million deal from Ligue 1 side Troyes.

Despite the departures of Sergio Gomez and Julian Alvarez, with the latter leaving Manchester in a £82m deal to join Atletico Madrid, City have yet to replace the Argentine who scored 19 goals in 54 games for the club last season and proved to play a vital role alongside Erling Haaland.

With City’s hearing regarding their 115 charges set to begin next month, according to The Times, Neville questioned whether their lack of transfer business as well as their hefty sale of Alvarez has been done with the potential consquences of being found guilty in mind.

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, the Manchester United legend said: “Last night it was announced that Manchester City’s hearing will start in four weeks. I wonder if they’re not signing anybody on purpose, thinking they might get the book thrown at them.

“If they think they’re going to get found guilty, and something ridiculous happens – they get relegated or deducted 20 points – they might think what is the point of signing players now. They got £82million for Álvarez, and they might just see what happens.”

Should City be proven guilty of the most serious charges against them, the Premier League champions could face the danger of expulsion from the top-flight. And it has been reported that the outcome of the complex hearing will be known early in 2025, unless further potential legal delays prevent the commencement of the hearing in mid-to-late September.

Among the 115 charges, the champions are alleged to have failed to provide accurate financial information and details for player and manager payments over a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018. Meanwhile, they were also accused of breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules seven times from 2015 to 2018.

The Citizens are also charged with failing to comply with UEFA’s rules, including Financial Fair Play, on five occasions from 2013 to 2018 on top of the 35 charges they face for allegedly failing to co-operate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 to February 2023.