A large number of Express Sport readers believe that City should face the same punishment if they are eventually found to be on the wrong side of the Premier League's financial regulations. 41 per cent of respondents to our latest poll said that a points deduction would be the right call, while another 36 per cent want to see them kicked out of England's top flight if the charges are proven.

Meanwhile, the remaining 23 per cent of voters said that City should be stripped of their Premier League titles in the event of a guilty verdict. It remains to be seen if anything will come of the charges levelled against them, with a final decision not expected to be made for quite some time.

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Speaking after the charges were revealed in February, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak urged the team's critics to avoid undermining their on-pitch achievements in spite of their alleged financial breaches. He said: "It's very frustrating because it takes so much from the great work that's happening at this club and it's happening not just on the football pitch.

"The football pitch, we talked about that, what these players have achieved this year, the treble, is incredible. I hope people focus and judge them for their football and what they're achieving on the pitch and what they're achieving in every competition they're in."

He told The Sun: "There are too many things that 'might' happen if City are found against. It will be very serious, all hell will break loose. It will turn into an enormous story, not just in respect of football but much wider than that. So many parties will be implicated. It will be an incredibly explosive situation."