The strength of the judgement against Manchester City, following their legal case with the Premier League, has shocked the club, its employees and their players. Most of those inside the City Football Academy (CFA) accept that the verdict -- made public for the first time on Tuesday -- is a worst-case scenario.
There's been speculation and discussion on and off at the CFA for more than three years since the charges were announced in February 2023 about what might happen. It was always viewed internally as highly unlikely that every count of financial misconduct would be proved.
City insist they are innocent -- a message that's come from the top, namely chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and CEO Ferran Soriano -- and many employees want to give the club the benefit of the doubt. They enjoy working for City and feel that they've been well looked after over the years.
In that respect, many people ESPN spoke for this story with are choosing to believe the conviction of Khaldoon and Soriano. At the very least, the majority of these staff members are prepared to wait until after the appeal is heard before passing judgement.
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Many staff members are also fans and as such, they are personally invested as well as professionally. City are a big club and a major employer, but since the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008, they club's owners have done a good job of creating a family feel and a sense of shared purpose. More than 700 employees attended a UK all-staff meeting in the first week of this three-week international break, while players are away on duty with their national teams.
There is, however, a cloud hanging over the CFA, and the mood in general has been described to ESPN as nervous. Soriano, in his video message to staff on Tuesday, insisted it should be business as usual, but in the absence of any real information about what sanctions might follow, there's genuine worry about what the future could hold.
The same goes for the players. With many of City's senior squad away on international duty, some have had direct contact with the club, while others have not. One agent of a first-team player told ESPN that his client is "calm" about the situation and is happy with the public reassurances offered by senior executives. There is, though, an acceptance that things could change depending on the result of the appeal -- which has yet to be filed, but must be lodged by the close of business on Friday, Oct. 2 -- and any punishment handed down.