Steven Gerrard has delivered a brutal verdict on Manchester City's financial misconduct case, insisting the Premier League champions must be stripped of their titles, hit with a transfer ban and forced to endure years of points deductions if they are ultimately found guilty.The Liverpool legend believes an example must be set after the Premier League alleges City, arguing that the club should suffer consequences comparable to the damage their alleged breaches caused to rivals over nearly a decade.22.00: (3.30) Coventry (3.50) Newcastle (2.15)"They have to be stripped," Gerrard told The Overlap. "There needs to be an example set, historically, whether that's a star throughout all the years of their achievements, because then it doesn't matter whether the titles are stripped or not, as soon as that star is there, then everyone knows that success happened because of what we all know happened."##EDITORS_CHOICE##Gerrard, who captained Liverpool to second place behind City in the dramatic 2013-14 Premier League title race, could have a personal stake in the outcome. He left Anfield in 2015, but insists his argument is not about reclaiming a medal or rewriting his own career."I'm not someone who's going to sit here and say I would accept a Premier League medal or I want one that they've got. It wouldn't feel the same, it wouldn't be the same," he said."I think I've come to terms with the fact that I've never won the Premier League."##LINKED_NEWS_69805##Instead, the former England captain wants punishment that goes beyond stripping titles. He called for a transfer ban and points deductions imposed over multiple seasons, while questioning whether relegation would be the right solution given its potential impact on clubs in the English Football League."I think it needs to be a transfer ban, a points [deduction] over a period of time and make them suffer like they've made everyone suffer over the nine, ten years that they've done it," Gerrard said.##TWITTER_<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The famous Gerrard slip was 10 years ago. Where has the time gone… 🤯 https://t.co/0h3ivIqmyo</p>— EPL Bible (@EPLBible) <a href="https://x.com/EPLBible/status/1784164048067551262?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>##He also pointed to the punishments handed to Everton and Nottingham Forest for financial breaches, insisting the Premier League must show the same resolve when dealing with City."Good luck to the Premier League, but they have to be strong," he added.The case concerns alleged breaches between 2009 and 2018. City deny wrongdoing and have appealed the verdict, meaning the outcome remains subject to the appeal process.##LINKED_NEWS_69781##But Gerrard's most cutting argument was not about medals or league tables. It was about the memories and moments that other clubs and their supporters may have lost if City's alleged misconduct is ultimately proven."What about the memories they've taken away from, not just possibly me and the team that I played in, but over that period of nine or 10 years?" he asked."Spurs fans, United fans, Everton fans, teams at the bottom, teams in the cups. The City ex-players, current players and the City owners, everyone connected with City, have got to think about the memories that they potentially have stolen from everyone else."
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