The absence of Premier League chief Richard Masters spoke volumes, as the club won its fourth consecutive title under a shadow.
Nothing highlighted the elephant in the room more than the Premier League’s chief executive’s absence from the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Richard Masters has attempted to downplay the significance of his decision to go to the Emirates to see Arsenal rather than Manchester City win an unprecedented fourth Premier League title, claiming there was nothing “particularly scientific” about the move.
If Arsenal, rather than City, had a two-point lead heading into the final day, it would have made sense to play in north London.
But, given the circumstances, it was difficult not to get the impression that Masters was delighted to avoid the unpleasantness of handing off the trophy to the very club his body had charged with 115 counts of alleged financial irregularities, which City, of course, denies.
So it was up to Alison Brittain, the Premier League’s chair, who keeps a low profile and undoubtedly had many City fans guessing about her identity, to give the trophy to City captain Kyle Walker and exchange pleasantries with the players and manager Pep Guardiola.
It’s hard to believe anyone from City was thinking about those charges as Walker hoisted the Premier League trophy into the air as they celebrated their newfound status as the first club in English football history to win four consecutive league titles.
However, there is little doubt that the next 12 months will bring two significant challenges for City, both on and off the pitch, as they seek to extend their period of unparalleled domination.
However, there is little doubt that the next 12 months will bring two significant challenges for City, both on and off the pitch, as they seek to extend their period of unparalleled domination.
The Premier League case, which is anticipated to come to a head in some form over the course of next season, should be enough of a nuisance on its own, even if City is confident they will be exonerated and all talk of asterisks and tainted titles will be put to rest.
But City will also have the small matter of Guardiola’s future to resolve – an elephant in the room of a different kind. The City manager’s contract expires at the end of next season and he did not sound like a man certain to extend it by any means when the subject was raised.
“The reality is I am closer to leaving than staying,” he said. “We have talked with the club – my feeling is that I want to stay now. I will stay next season and during the season we will talk. But [after] eight or nine years [at City] – we will see.”
City could face an unprecedented range of punishments including points deductions, sweeping fines and the ultimate sanction of expulsion from the League should they be found guilty of the charges that now cast a shadow over a second consecutive title win. But the prospect of Guardiola calling it a day a year from now presents all kinds of other threats and unknowns.
Liverpool’s departing manager, Jurgen Klopp, made an interesting point when he suggested over the weekend that, for all the furore around the charges, City would not have won four in a row had they not had Guardiola in charge, praise that almost brought the Catalan to tears on Sunday as he reflected on their rivalry.
City may be one of the best-run clubs in Europe but, just as Liverpool fans are now unsure how a post-Klopp world will look, City without Guardiola will instantly be weaker. They need only look across the road at the state of Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement to know how devastating the impact of losing a master manageGET MORE NEWS HERE
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