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Yet City went from strength to strength, amassing even more world class players like Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez - and hiring Guardiola.Ĭity was banned from European competition for two years in 2020 for "serious breaches" of spending rules and failing to cooperate with investigators after the publication of leaked emails and documents, likely hacked, that allegedly showed attempts to cover up the source of the club's income.Ĭity denied the charges and the ban was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Qatar-backed Paris Saint-Germain received the same punishment. In 2014 City was fined USD 82 million and ordered to limit the size of its Champions League squad after breaching FFP rules. But to many City fans - who routinely jeer the Champions League anthem before games - it has been viewed as a way to block its super rich owners from competing with the traditional elite like Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, United and even Inter. UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations were designed to create financial stability in soccer by ensuring spending was balanced with earnings. There has been a feeling among many of them that soccer's establishment has tried to hold them back. There is a sense of expectation in the air that their time has finally come. The City fans who have been landing in Istanbul in recent days are here to party. Inter Milan - the third best team in Italy this season - will have to pull off one of the biggest upsets in recent Champions League history to stop City now. This team seems too good to fail after winning the Premier League and FA Cup in recent weeks and already blowing away European giants Bayern Munich and Real Madrid on the way to the final. Yet the Champions League has always been a step too far, with City - and Guardiola, in particular, conjuring evermore unlikely ways to blow it on the biggest stage.