Strip their titles and put an asterisk next to them: Steven Gerrard demands harsh punishment for Manchester City

According to him, the club should be stripped of their titles or have an asterisk placed beside all their achievements from that period.

The former Liverpool captain finished second behind City by just two points in the 2013-14 season. It proved to be his penultimate campaign at Anfield before departing for MLS outfit LA Galaxy a year later and subsequently hanging up his boots.

"I wouldn't want individual players to have to give anything back. That wouldn't feel right, and I wouldn't accept anything. I've made peace with what I achieved. But as far as the club is concerned, they should be stripped of those titles," Gerrard said on the Overlap Daily podcast. 

The 46-year-old Englishman suggested at least placing an asterisk next to City's accolades: "A historic precedent needs to be set. Whether they take the titles away or not, there should at least be an asterisk next to what they won. Everyone would know why it's there."

Gerrard dismissed the idea of City being relegated to the Championship, arguing that such a sanction would unfairly punish clubs battling for promotion from the second tier.

"I think they should get a transfer ban and points deductions spread across multiple seasons. Let them suffer the way everyone else had to suffer for nine or ten years because of what they did," he added.

An independent commission found City guilty of over 100 breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between 2009 and 2018. During that timeframe, the club entered into fictitious contracts to artificially boost revenue and reduce costs, with the entire scheme valued at nearly £1 billion. The club has appealed against the ruling.