The Only Way Out: Jamie Carragher Names Sole Solution for Manchester City

According to the 48-year-old Carragher, the club's hierarchy have no future at the Etihad in the wake of the financial breaches scandal.

“Manchester City are at the end of their Abu Dhabi era. The club can only recover from this cloud once the owners accept they failed in their duties and sell up. There is no sugarcoating this situation. The scale of the deception and the unwillingness to cooperate with the investigation make the position of every senior executive untenable,” the former Liverpool defender was quoted as saying by news agency DPA.

The Premier League announced on Tuesday that an independent commission concluded City had entered into "sham" commercial agreements with multiple sponsors during the period in question. These deals formed part of a disguised funding scheme whereby the companies paid only a fraction of their purported sponsorship fees.

The remainder, the commission found, was funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), the club's parent entity. Manchester City intend to appeal the ruling.

A contrasting view was offered by British politician Andy Burnham, who praised parent company City Football Group for their substantial investment across Manchester, stating that any potential departure of the owners would be a matter of deep concern. He added, however, that he would "keep his distance" should the United Arab Emirates government approach him regarding the dispute.

Carragher remains adamant that there must be zero leniency for those found guilty of wrongdoing. “The Premier League's Owners' and Directors' Test sets out the consequences of breaching key rules in black and white. Anyone failing to meet those standards must be disqualified from serving as a director or owner of a Premier League club. Otherwise, the regulations are simply not fit for purpose,” added the 2004–05 Champions League winner.