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WHAT HAPPENED?

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Top-flight rivals such as Everton and Nottingham Forest have been punished for breaches of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), but City are still waiting on the outcome in their protracted FFP saga. Said case will reportedly be heard in September, with a final decision on any sanctions being made by the end of the calendar year.

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  WHAT DICKOV SAID

  Former City striker Paul Dickov has – speaking in association with Altenar – told GOAL when asked what those on the blue half of Manchester have made of the endless rumours regarding potential relegation, points deductions or fines: “The club, from what I’ve seen, they are fairly relaxed about it all. They have been in a situation where they have had to, not fight against UEFA before and they came out and won. I wouldn’t have thought, if they thought they were going to be guilty, that they would challenge it – that is the one thing I will say.

  “The owners are fantastic people, they are very humble, and if they thought there was any wrongdoing that had been done, they would probably hold their hands up rather than try and fight it. The fact that they are fighting it all the way to end tells me that City are very positive about it all.”

• WHAT NEXT?

  A long-running dispute behind the scenes has proved to be no distraction for City on the field, as Pep Guardiola oversaw a record-breaking fourth consecutive Premier League title triumph last season. He is, however, into the final year of his contract and there are plenty of questions regarding future plans being asked at the Etihad.