The independent commission's finding that Manchester City systematically breached Premier League financial rules across nine seasons between 2009-18 has generated widespread debate about the nature and scale of any eventual punishment.

The commission found that City arranged commercial sponsorship contracts under which a number of the club's partners paid only a fraction of the agreed fees, with the remainder covered by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd.

The schemes were found to have artificially inflated revenues and reduced costs by more than £900 million across the affected period, with the club additionally found guilty on the majority of charges relating to a failure to cooperate with the investigation.

Manchester City lodged a comprehensive appeal against the commission's opinion on October 1, having rejected the verdict in unequivocal terms upon its publication.

The club's position is that the opinion contains "clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe," and that "a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence" exists in support of their innocence.

The sanctions phase - which will determine any sporting or financial punishment - has not yet begun and will follow the conclusion of the appeals process, with full resolution not expected until 2028 or 2029.

The verdict has prompted calls in some quarters for consequences that extend beyond the standard range of sporting sanctions available to the independent commission.

Among those suggestions has been the possibility that Manchester City's owners could ultimately be forced to sell the club: a position that reflects the scale of the misconduct found but which faces significant obstacles within the existing regulatory framework.

As reported by The Telegraph's Jason Burt, while there is talk that Manchester City's owners should be forced to sell as a result of the Premier League's verdict, the chances of that happening are slim at present.

The Premier League's rulebook governs the conduct of clubs in relation to financial reporting and fair play obligations, but does not contain provisions that directly mandate a forced ownership sale as a sanction for those breaches. Any route to that outcome would require either new regulatory powers or intervention through separate legal channels.

The range of sanctions available to the independent commission includes points deductions, fines and, in theory, the stripping of titles - though the last would represent an unprecedented step in English football.

Multiple rival clubs - among them Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United - are also reported to be preparing civil compensation claims linked to the period in question, with the combined value of those potential actions believed to be around £800 million.

Ownership consequences sit in a separate legal category to those sanctions entirely, and Burt's report reflects the view that no mechanism currently exists within English football's disciplinary architecture to compel a sale on the basis of the commission's verdict alone.

Enzo Maresca's side return to Premier League action against Liverpool at Anfield this weekend, three days before hosting Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League at the Etihad Stadium