Manchester United stars clamouring to be awarded Premier League medals because of Manchester City’s cheating simply don’t deserve them – those honours should be wiped from history
Manchester United have entered arguably the most vital moment in their recent history off the pitch as they lay in wait to get what they’re owed from Manchester City’s disgraceful cheating.
City were found guilty of 114 charges of breaching the Premier League financial rules, artificially inflating their revenue to the tune of £900million through contracts the top flight has called “sham”. It’s the biggest scandal in modern football history and the knives are lying in wait for the forever tainted club by their rivals.
While City continue to insist their innocence and appeal against an independent panel’s findings, other lawyers of clubs impacted by Shamchester City’s cheating are plotting their humongous compensation claims, players who fell short to the team that broke the rules want their retribution as well.
The likes of David De Gea, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes have said they would welcome another Premier League medal, and of all three United teams to finish second to City, those players have the biggest case for defence having finished 19 points ahead of 3rd place Arsenal.
But winning just three of their last six league games was hardly the form of a team unlucky to have missed out. A 1-0 defeat at Wigan Athletic was followed by a capitulation at home to Everton two weeks later, when a 3-1 and 4-2 lead were squandered in the final 10 minutes.
And then came the title decider at the Etihad the following week, where Vincent Kompany’s header put the title into City’s hands with two games to go.
Do those players in the squad really feel they deserve a medal for how the season fell apart in the space of three weeks? Why would they? Wayne Rooney has come out and said he wouldn’t feel comfortable being handed a medal for that season if City are stripped of the title – and he scored 27 goals in 34 league games.
The other time that United finished second in the league to City during the years of their industrial level cheating came in the 17/18 season, when the now-tainted Centurions finished 19 points ahead of Jose Mourinho’s side.
United beat City that season at the Etihad in a second-half comeback for the ages from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and deny their neighbours winning the league against them. But the following weekend saw the Reds lose at home to already relegated West Brom and hand the league to City.
Mourinho’s lot finished four points ahead of Tottenham in third, and six clear of Liverpool in fourth, hardly a procession if City were erased from the picture.
The Special One was asked about City’s cheating outcome, and replied: “Maybe they punish Man City with points, and maybe we win that league. Then they have to pay me the bonus and give me my medal.”
Juan Mata joined De Gea’s calls for a medal, but a defeat at Huddersfield Town, three draws over Christmas against Leicester, Burnley and Southampton before losing to West Brom and Brighton at the end of the campaign, hardly makes Victor Lindelof, Marcos Rojo, Marouane Fellaini, Matteo Darmian and co worthy of being crowned Premier League winners.
Moving on three years, to a time outside of the guilty verdict against City, but with a team built around and stained by financial doping, United finished second again to Pep Guardiola’s team.
A points total of 74 was enough to finish five clear of Liverpool’s miserable title defence and seven ahead of Chelsea, but 12 behind City.
A 2-1 home defeat against one of the worst Premier League teams of all-time in Sheffield United ended title aspirations in January that even an unbeaten run of four months couldn’t resurrect.
If players like Brandon Williams get their way, the crazy COVID campaign could subsequently make league winners of him, Alex Telles, Fred, Axel Tuanzebe, Donny van de Beek and Dan James. There’s no glory in that.
No player from any club should pick up a medal for finishing runner-up to City in any competition. But they should all launch their own lawsuits for loss of earnings through various contractual bonuses that an illegal team denied them having.
And no team should retrospectively be awarded anything if City are rightly stripped of everything from the past 15 years.
No club should ever be crowned a winner for finishing second – are you listening AFCON? But just like their players, the wronged clubs should go all out for compensation they are owed – be it prize money or loss of future revenues from playing in Europe or sponsorship and commercial opportunities they missed out on as a result.
Everything City won should be erased from their history and left blank, meaning they and the officials that allowed such deceitful ownership to stain a proud club forever can never be ignored.