The Cityzens could be expelled from the Premier League after officially being charged with over 100 breaches of the competition's financial regulations.

If the 1-0 loss to Tottenham on Sunday wasn't bad enough, Manchester City now find themselves in tremendous trouble after officially being charged with financial breaches.

The reigning champions of England have been officially charged by the Premier League over alleged breaches of the competition's financial laws. In fact, the Cityzens are accused of committing these offenses over 100 times in the space of nine seasons.

The charges against the mega-rich club are in relation to financial information regarding revenue, details of manager and player remuneration, UEFA regulations, profitability and sustainability, and cooperation with Premier League investigations.

This comes after a four-year investigation into Manchester City's books which began in March 2019. It calls into question the legitimacy of the club's finances and dealings from 2009 up until the 2017/18 season.

If found guilty, Manchester City could suffer a points deduction — however, given the nature of this case, a drawn-out court battle appears inevitable which will delay any punishment. Even worse, the club could also be expelled from the English top flight. The case will now be referred to an independent commission and while the Cityzens are yet to publicly respond to this development, the Abu Dhabi-owned team are prepared for another hefty legal battle regarding alleged financial breaches.

"In accordance with Premier League rule W.82.1, the Premier League confirms that it has today [February 6 2023] referred a number of alleged breaches of the Premier League rules by Manchester City Football Club to a commission under Premier League rule W.3.4," the Premier League's official statement said.

"Commissions are independent of the Premier League and member clubs. The members of the commission will be appointed by the independent chair of the Premier League judicial panel, in accordance with Premier League rules W.19, W.20 and W.26.

"The proceedings before the commission will, in accordance with Premier League rule W.82, be confidential and heard in private. Under Premier League rule W.82.2, the commission's final award will be published on the Premier League's website.

"This confirmation is made in accordance with Premier League rule W.82.1. The Premier League will be making no further comment in respect of this matter until further notice."

The first set of breaches relate to the club's financial position and revenue, including sponsorship revenue, which has become a controversial topic due to the club's ties with the UAE government and several state-owned organizations. Additionally, the club are accused of providing inaccurate information regarding the remuneration of players and manager — namely Roberto Mancini — during the specified time frame.

On top of that, the six-time Premier League winners have also been charged for failing to comply with UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations and cooperate with investigators.

In February 2020, Manchester City were banned from the Champions League and were slapped with a hefty fine for misleading UEFA and breaching FFP, with one of the most concerning allegations against the team being overstated sponsorship income.

The ban was later lifted and the fine was reduced after the case went to the CAS. The court found that "most of the alleged breaches were either not established or time-barred".

Unfortunately for the Cityzens, there is no statute of limitations in the Premier League and thus the English top flight opened up their own investigation. Guardiola's side won three league titles, an FA Cup, and three Carabao Cup trophies during this time.