Former Manchester City defender Danny Mills says a one-season sanction would never fit the crime. “One season does nothing. It becomes irrelevant,” he told GB News, as he pushed for a seven-year punishment over the club’s alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules.
Mills argued that any sanction must be harsh and must cover the period when the alleged breaches took place. “I think the punishment has to be fair, harsh, and I would say probably over the course of seven seasons,” he said.
Manchester City face more than 100 alleged breaches of Premier League rules, and the club has appealed against the verdict.
Mills noted that the seven most serious charges cover the seven-season period he wants punished. He said City have been found guilty of “financial doping, effectively.”
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The pundit also dismissed relegation to the Championship as a fair solution. He said City would still hold the strongest squad by some distance, with first-team players, reserves, under-21s and loanees all available.
“If a few players left, they’d blitz the Championship,” Mills said, adding that City would steal a promotion place from a second-tier club.
He also challenged the idea that Championship clubs would profit from hosting City. A single fixture, he argued, would not generate substantial extra revenue.
“The TV deal is not going to suddenly change because Man City are in the Championship for a season,” he said.
Mills then turned to Sunday’s trip to Anfield, where he expects a hostile reception from Liverpool supporters. He predicted fans would unleash chants, banners and flags aimed at City. “Football fans are clever,” he said.
“They’ll come up with some interesting signs, some clever flags, some banners and some great songs, no doubt.”
Despite the noise, Mills sees the atmosphere as a gift for City boss Enzo Maresca. He believes the visitors can turn the hostility into fuel. “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.
He doubts Liverpool can answer in kind. Players, he said, would struggle to buy into a team talk built on the financial charges. “It’s a hard sell for the players,” Mills said, adding that he expects Liverpool to treat the game as a normal fixture.
