Man City’s mega Erling Haaland deal leaves us all waiting for an answer to the BIG question

Erling Haaland’s new enormous Manchester City contract is being celebrated by some fans of the club as evidence that they are set to escape serious punishment – but we just don’t know

In less than three weeks, English football can mark the second anniversary of a day that might or might not be one of the most significant in the game’s history. The day when the Premier League charged Manchester City with 115 breaches of its financial rules.

Since then, 13 of the clubs currently in the Premier League have changed their manager at least once. Southampton and Leicester have been relegated and promoted since then – and might well get relegated again before we get a verdict on the City charges. That is how farcical the situation has become.

The charges have been brought back into focus by the monumental Erling Haaland deal. First reaction to the nine-and-a-half year deal was to wonder how much they are paying him, second reaction was to wonder if Haaland had been told City were going to escape serious punishment.

Pep Guardiola signed a new deal, now comes this ten-season agreement with Haaland and a posse of signings to arrive before this current transfer window closes. Doesn’t sound as though the Premier League champions expect to be playing Macclesfield Town any time soon. But we don’t actually know.

So, for the credibility of the Premier League, it is high time the independent commission which has heard the charges makes its decisions.

Sure, Everton, essentially coughed to falling foul of Profit and Sustainability Rules which accelerated their verdict on them and their punishments. But, along with Nottingham Forest, they were still dealt with in quite a ruthlessly swift fashion. And in a tough fashion.

Figures show that, over the past five years, Everton are the only current Premier League club to show a profit in the transfer market. Yet, somehow, they have been punished twice for PSR wrongdoings.

And despite some fairly spectacular spending in recent years – and a lot of big-money contracts (yep, looking at you, Chelsea) – every Premier League club has just been declared PSR-compliant after the latest set of checks. No wonder Everton supporters felt aggrieved. And that is without being bitter Blues.

With their highly-paid coterie of top lawyers and with the number of charges being considered, there was a widespread acceptance that any sort of conclusion would take some time to reach. After all, the charges were only brought at the end of an investigation that lasted FOUR YEARS.

But, don’t forget, some of these charges date back to 2008 and there is a danger their historical nature will start making them look less and less relevant.

Last August, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said that it was ‘self-evident the case needs to be heard and answered.’ And it was finally heard, that part of the process completed on December 6, having begun on September 16.

Perhaps the commission had a long Christmas break but six weeks since the conclusion of the hearing, there are still no verdicts. And when you line that up alongside the current flurry of contractual activity at Manchester City, it is easy to see why people are drawing certain conclusions.

In various media outlets, anonymous sources are speculating that the most likely outcome of what might just be the longest legal case in club football history is a huge financial sanction for City. But Masters insists the process is, in terms of confidentiality, absolutely watertight.

And, of course, both parties – the Premier League and City – will have a right to appeal. That means the process could drag on for even longer. But, right now, as City go spending merrily on their way, the rest of football needs some sort of answer.

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