• Sanction: UEFA expels Manchester City from the Champions League the next two seasons

Josep Maria Orobitg, agent of Pep Guardiola, jokes at all those calls from intermediaries who tend to hammer his mobile phone, either for the interest of Juventus, or for the interest of Bayern in re-recruiting his representative. Last Tuesday, Orobitg met Guardiola. Neither one nor the other, although they could suspect it, still knew that the Award Chamber of the UEFA Financial Control Body was going to sanction Manchester City with two years without playing the Champions League, in addition to a fine of 30 million euros . But the representative, in conversation with THE WORLD, continues to be clear: «Guardiola always fulfills all his contracts. And yours concludes in June 2021 » .

The City coach, in any case, owns his future. According to the agreement he reached in his day with the foremen of the British club, from the third season Guardiola has total freedom to terminate his bond . This is confirmed by Orobitg. The coach of Santpedor, current champion of the Premier, meets his fourth season at the helm of the City, so this summer, if he wanted to, he could look for a new destination. Do not believe so your representative. The end of his journey in Manchester, thus, would not come until 2021 , at which point he would seek another destination.

TEMPLATE. An exodus more than unlikely from the stars of the first squad of the City

Beyond the coach's situation, the market tries to interpret the consequences of the sanction against Manchester City, beyond what the Sports Arbitration Court (TAS) can resolve on account of the “serious infractions committed” by the club owned by Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan , a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, after - according to the Adjudicatory Chamber - "exaggerating" their sponsorship contracts between 2012 and 2016. "No one is going to leave the City. The contracts, of the highest in Europe, tie the players ”, says an agent with three decades of experience. The Belgian Kevin de Bruyne, who will turn 28 next June, could be out of the great continental showcase in full sports maturity . According to the Times newspaper, it has a bonus of 1.2 million euros for winning the Champions League and another for which it charges 10% of its salary - estimated at about 21 million euros - for the mere classification for the maximum continental competition . Your contract, signed in 2018, does not expire until 2023.

The other great jewel of the team, Raheem Sterling, 25, also concludes his contract in 2023, and has a salary of about 18 million euros. He hasn't wanted to renew yet . While Sergio Agüero, precisely, ends his relationship with the City on June 30, 2021. He will be 34 years old. He hasn't won the Champions League yet.

José Antonio Martín Otín, Petón, CEO of the Bahía agency and who is currently working as an international football analyst, agrees with the thesis: « If that same thing happened to Atlético, the following year there would be three. But nobody is going to move from the City because the economy weighs heavily . I am sure that there is not a single contract in your workforce that has a clause that invalidates it for not playing European competition. There is no one who can break that link for that reason because the player is not depriving him of his work activity . In addition, the termination clauses are not included. "There is nothing to do," Peton ditch.

DISCRIMINATORY PROCESS? UEFA, as a private organization, is based on Swiss civil law

Manchester City, after hearing the sanction last Friday, issued a harsh statement: “This is a case initiated by UEFA, processed by UEFA and tried by UEFA. With this discriminatory process now over, the club will try to get a fair trial. "That argument would be in charge of refuting it perfectly the TAS", explains to this newspaper a reputed professional of sports law, which abounds: "UEFA is a private organization, so it is guided by Swiss civil law. Therefore, out there, difficult. Another thing is that there could be some error in the review of the City's accounts, or that the club itself justifies those revenues that UEFA considers are not characteristic of its commercial activity. Beyond TAS would be ordinary justice. Theoretically, all awards can be appealed to the Supreme Federal Court of Switzerland. But the conditions to review them are very limited . Almost all countries, in addition, have signed the New York Convention, whereby the awards of the arbitral tribunals are immediately executed. That normally prevents ordinary justice from being used, ”says the same lawyer.

THE TAS Three referees, without a quality vote, and sentence before the start of the Champions League

There are three referees that make up the TAS panel. One proposed by the City, the other by UEFA, and a third, acting as president, appointed by the TAS administration itself. All of them independent. There is no quality vote and the decision is agreed. That process will lead to an oral hearing in Lausanne. The award should be ready before the Champions League draw. If the competition begins without a firm judgment and without the City, the British club, if it won the cause, would have the right to ask for compensation, but not to take the place of another team .

The City could also ask for the precautionary, which will hardly be accepted . In order for it to be granted, three conditions would have to be met: appearance of good right, that is, that the TAS considers that it may be right; that the sentence causes irreparable damage to the City; and, third, by a simple balance of interests, if the City's interest in participating in the Champions League or UEFA's interest in preserving financial fair play is more important .

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