Former England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey believes Manchester City could be handed a 60-point deduction by the Premier League.
Man City were recently found guilty of systematically breaching the league’s financial rules between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons.
However, the club are currently appealing the bombshell verdict and Heskey expects legal proceedings to continue for at least another year.
Big points deduction predicted
During an exclusive sit-down interview with BestBettingSites, Heskey discussed Man City’s potential punishment, saying: “I think they will probably get a 60-point deduction, but say City get 90-something points or 100 – well, then they could stay up.
“They’ve got a chance.
“If they end up staying up, then I’m not sure that’s the right punishment from the point of view of other clubs.
“They will probably go into the Championship, but people will have questions about whether they should go into League One or League Two instead.
“I don’t know what will be considered good enough, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a bit of negotiations behind the scenes to find an outcome that’s acceptable for everyone.”
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No end in sight
Given the high-profile nature of the case, Heskey expressed doubt that there will be a resolution any time soon.
“For the off-field legal issues and their appeal, it’s so complex that it won’t be resolved quickly or sorted this season,” he stated.
“Both sides are going to throw arguments back and forth, and it could go on for a year or more.
“Whether it ends in a massive points deduction or relegation, nobody knows yet, but it’s not getting settled straight away.”
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