We relegated Man City to National League and simmed 10 seasons in nightmare punishment scenario

Manchester Evening News simulated a 10-season Football Manager 26 experiment where Manchester City were relegated to the fifth-tier National League following hypothetical financial charges. The scenario prompted an immediate exodus of star players, including Erling Haaland to Barcelona, Gianluigi Donnarumma to Newcastle, and Enzo Fernandez to Real Madrid. Under Enzo Maresca, City achieved three consecutive promotions from the National League, League Two, and League One before stalling for five seasons in the Championship.

After Maresca was dismissed following an 11th-place finish, replacement Regis Le Bris suffered consecutive play-off final losses before finally earning promotion as Championship winners in year eight. City returned to the Premier League with a seventh-place finish to qualify for Europe, but Le Bris was sacked in year 10 with the club in 14th. Arsenal dominated the top flight by winning six consecutive titles in the simulation, while Manchester United appointed Luis Enrique and claimed two FA Cups and a Europa League.