Could history be rewritten? Guardiola, Man City and the 115 charges

During 10 seasons, Pep Guardiola has led Manchester City to 17 major trophies - and 20 in all

If, as expected, Pep Guardiola leaves Manchester City at the end of this season, he will do so as one of the most successful and influential managers in Premier League history.

The club has been the dominant force in the English game during his 10 seasons in charge, a tenure in which City won the Premier League six times (including a record four in a row), as well as the Champions League and a historic Treble.

But to what extent does the unprecedented catalogue of more than 100 charges of alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules cast a shadow over Guardiola's time in charge?

With City having always denied wrongdoing, the answer will only become clear when the outcome of the case is finally revealed.

An independent commission is yet to publish a ruling almost a year-and-a half after a disciplinary hearing concluded.

Whether the saga has played a role in the timing of Guardiola's expected departure, and whether he wanted to leave City before the result was known, is unclear.

But until that time, it is inevitable that questions will be asked about how exactly City achieved the trophy-laden era it has enjoyed since the takeover of the club by billionaire Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Mansour - the deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates - in 2008.

BBC sports editor Dan Roan explains Manchester City charges

The 115 charges relate largely to a range of alleged financial rule breaches by City between 2009 and 2018.

While there is no suggestion that Guardiola was aware of any alleged wrongdoing, there is a two-year overlap with his tenure at Etihad Stadium, which began in the summer of 2016.

alleged failure to provide accurate financial information, including details for player and manager payments, from 2009-10 to 2017-18 seasons

alleged failure to comply with Uefa's financial fair play (FFP) rules from 2013-14 to 2017-18

alleged breaches of Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) from 2015-16 to 2017-18

City also face multiple charges that they failed to co-operate with the Premier League's investigation between December 2018 and February 2023.

As manager, Guardiola has not been involved with the legal process. But he has not been able to claim that these charges only apply to a period before his arrival.

The charges are thought to relate to allegations first made in 2018 by German media outlet Der Spiegel, which published leaked internal City emails.

It claimed that the documents showed the club had inflated sponsorship revenue from state-owned airline Etihad and state-controlled telecoms firm Etisalat, by disguising direct investment from its holding company - Mansour's Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) - as sponsorship income, by channelling money through the companies' accounts.

This, it was alleged, was a means of getting FFP rules introduced by Uefa in 2011, and PSR brought in by the Premier League in 2012, two similar systems of spending control designed to limit clubs' losses. City and the companies denied wrongdoing.

There then followed further allegations of misreporting financial information centred on documents that claimed to show secret 'off-the-books' payments to previous manager Roberto Mancini via consultancy fees from a club in Abu Dhabi, and giving players more money than was officially going through the accounts so that recorded spending was less than it actually was. Mancini denied any wrongdoing.

In short, City effectively stand accused of subverting Premier League rules that clubs had agreed to comply with, and of distorting the competition over multiple seasons.

City - who have always denied they are state-owned - said the emails were obtained illegally, and that they were an "attempt to damage the club's reputation", insisting they were innocent.

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'Are you accusing me?' Guardiola unhappy with FFP question. Video, 00:00:50'Are you accusing me?' Guardiola unhappy with FFP question

If City are cleared of the more serious charges, Guardiola's legacy will be viewed as secure.