Sports Lawyer Claims Man City Players Could Become Free Agents After Verdict

Manchester City's players, Erling Haaland included, could legally walk away from the club as free agents after the guilty verdict in the Premier League case, according to a leading sports lawyer.

Paul Gilroy KC made the claim on the Stick to Football podcast. An independent commission found City guilty on 114 of the 115 charges, including arranging "sham" contracts with commercial partners between 2009 and 2018. City say they did nothing wrong and are preparing to appeal. They have until Friday to do it.

Ian Wright asked Gilroy if players who knew nothing about what went on in the boardroom would have a case to leave. Gilroy said they would. "Definitely, yes, good question, that, on the players' perspective," he said. "Every contract of employment, whether it's a footballer or someone who works in a shop, has got an implied term in it. In other words, it's not written down. And the implied term we're talking about here is the term of trust and confidence.

"So if I work for you, you and I must have sufficient trust and confidence in each other to enable that relationship to work. If you don't trust me, or I don't trust you, or if you call me a liar and a thief on Tuesday, I can't work for you on a Wednesday - trust and confidence.

"Now, a player could say 'You have breached the implied term of trust and confidence. You are my employer, you have acted in breach of that term, and that entitles me to say I'm ripping up my contract and I'm walking out'."

The idea of grabbing top players without paying a transfer fee got some jokes from the hosts. Jamie Carragher asked if Liverpool could sign Haaland for free next week. "Yeah, why not?" Gilroy replied. Wright joked that the Norwegian striker might fancy Arsenal. "He might want to come to Arsenal, just because of his mates there," he said.

The jokes aside, it shows how much the transfer market could change if City's players were allowed to cancel their deals.

The appeal will decide how heavy any punishment is. For manager Enzo Maresca and his squad, the job for now is to keep their focus on the pitch while the off-field storm rages. Until there is a final ruling, the question of players tearing up their contracts will hang over the club.