Liverpool set to benefit as Man City found guilty of 114 financial rule breaches
There is an old saying in football that table position never lies. What you see at the final whistle of game 38 is meant to be the absolute, unquestionable truth carved into the history books forever.
Yet, as Liverpool supporters know all too well, the modern game rarely moves in straight lines anymore. Sometimes, the most significant developments don't happen on the pitch.
For over three years, a dark shadow has loomed over the top tier of English football ever since the Premier League first dropped a bombshell list of 115 alleged financial breaches against Manchester City back in February 2023.
Now, after a long and agonising wait, a monumental verdict has finally landed. Reports confirmed that Manchester City have been found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges leveled against them, covering a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018.
City, predictably, strongly deny the allegations and are expected to launch a lengthy appeal. Chief executive Ferran Soriano has already reportedly warned senior figures at rival clubs that the legal saga is far from over and will take "much more time" to reach a final resolution.
However, the legal dam has broken. The independent panel's verdict opens the door to a world of potential retrospective punishments ranging from astronomical fines and transfer bans to point deductions, expulsion, or the ultimate penalty: stripping City of their Premier League titles.
For Liverpool, that last scenario carries an emotional weight quite unlike any other.
The agony of 2013/14 re-xamined
If the Premier League ultimate panel decides to strip titles rather than simply leaving those seasons blank, history tells us the crown usually passes to the team that finished as runners-up.
While Liverpool famously pushed City to the absolute wire in two agonizing title races in recent history, only one of those seasons falls directly within the 2009-2018 period of financial breaches: the famous, exhilarating, and ultimately heartbreaking 2013/14 campaign.
Under Brendan Rodgers, an electrifying Liverpool team led by a peak Luis Suárez swept the nation off its feet. Playing a breathless style of attacking football, the Reds held a commanding position at the top of the table before being clawed back in the final two weeks of the season, finishing just two points behind City on matchday 38.
The thought of that season naturally brings back painful memories for every Red who lived through it. But if the independent panel decides to retrospectively reallocate the 2013/14 title, the record books could be rewritten and a legendary group of players could finally receive the silverware their football deserved.
The 21 Reds in line for a winner's medal
To qualify for an official Premier League winner’s medal, a player must make at least five league appearances in a campaign. Should the 2013/14 title be retrospectively awarded to Liverpool, exactly 21 players from Rodgers' squad would officially become Premier League champions.
At the very top of that list sits Steven Gerrard.
The iconic former captain, who made 34 appearances and scored 13 league goals that season, gave everything to bring the title home to Anfield. To see Gerrard finally handed the Premier League medal that famously eluded his legendary career would be a moment of poetry for millions of supporters worldwide.
The full list of 21 qualifying Liverpool players highlights the unique mix of Anfield stalwarts, cult heroes, and short-term figures who formed that memorable squad:
Simon Mignolet (38 appearances)
Martin Skrtel (36 appearances)
Jordan Henderson (35 appearances)
Steven Gerrard (34 appearances)
Philippe Coutinho (33 appearances)
Raheem Sterling (33 appearances)
Luis Suárez (33 appearances)
Glen Johnson (29 appearances)
Daniel Sturridge (29 appearances)
Lucas Leiva (27 appearances)
Joe Allen (24 appearances)
Jon Flanagan (23 appearances)
Daniel Agger (20 appearances)
Kolo Touré (20 appearances)
Victor Moses (19 appearances)
Mamadou Sakho (18 appearances)
Aly Cissokho (15 appearances)
Iago Aspas ( 14 appearances)
Luis Alberto (9 appearances)
José Enrique (8 appearances)
Martin Kelly (5 appearances)
From world-class performers like Suárez and Sturridge to squad players like Cissokho and Aspas, every single one of those 21 names contributed to a thrilling 84-point campaign.
What Happens Next?
While the thought of Steven Gerrard receiving a winner's medal at long last is enough to warm the heart of any Kopite, patience remains the order of the day.
The Premier League handbook gives the independent panel wide discretion on sanctions. Stripping titles remains a genuine possibility—as publicly urged by former Reds skipper Graeme Souness—but the board could also elect to declare the 2013/14 season null and void, leaving the title unassigned.
Furthermore, with City preparing an appeal, it could take months before an official announcement is delivered on penalties.
Yet, for Liverpool fans who endured the heartbreak of May 2014, the guilty verdict marks a massive milestone. The wheels of justice in football move notoriously slowly, but the door to setting history straight is now firmly open.
