Liverpool watching closely as FFP finally threaten to get tough with Man City

This wasn't the Quadruple Pep Guardiola had in mind.

The Premier League have now joined FIFA, UEFA and the Football Association in investigating Manchester City's conduct. They stand accused of serious breaches over Financial Fair Play and Academy recruitment regulations.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp kept his counsel when asked whether he felt the Premier League title race was a fair fight at Melwood on Friday.

Klopp insisted he would reserve judgement over the array of allegations City are facing until the investigations are complete.

“I believe in the rules. It should be a fair competition,” he said.

The mountain of leaked documents which have entered the public domain in recent months suggest otherwise. They paint a bleak picture about how City allegedly cooked the books using Sheikh Mansour's petrodollars.

City continue to protest their innocence with Guardiola playing it all down and dismissing suggestions that the fallout will tarnish his legacy at the Etihad.

But that's exactly what it will do if City are found guilty. The list of accusations is hefty and damaging.

From manipulating a £60million contract with a sponsor in order to mask huge injections of cash from the owners to slashing £40million off their wage bill by setting up a shell company which paid players for image rights.

City also stand accused of breaking rules about third-party ownership through their relationship with Danish club FC Nordsjaelland and making a banned £200,000 payment to Jadon Sancho's agent when the winger was aged 14.

The burning question is 'what does it all mean for Liverpool ?'

Anyone hoping that City will be hit with a points deduction during the run-in is set to be disappointed.

For a start, this saga appears likely to drag on long after the Premier League title race has been decided.

But there's no doubt that all the negativity and the scrutiny is a distraction City could do without as the pressure cranks up and they chase a different type of quadruple.

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What's the potential punishment?

They could be suspended from taking part in the Champions League by UEFA and hit with a transfer ban by FIFA.

But don't hold your breath.

Liverpool's owners will certainly be watching the progress of the investigations with interest.

A failure to properly police FFP has been a source of immense frustration for Fenway Sports Group executives since they completed their takeover of the Reds in 2010.

John W Henry and Tom Werner were attracted to Anfield by the prospect of competing on a level playing field and operating in an environment where clubs largely had to live within their means.

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It hasn't happened. The game's rulers have been far too weak.

City's punishment from UEFA for FFP violations back in 2014 was pathetic. It was effectively a £17million fine – barely a slap on the wrist for a club whose owners have almost limitless wealth.

This time around the stakes are considerably higher. If the accusations are proven then a financial penalty simply won't cut it. They need to get tough.

The fact that at least a dozen top-flight clubs intend to write to the Premier League regarding City's alleged breaches of FFP illustrates that it's not just their direct competitors for the top prizes who feel that enough is enough.

Riding roughshod over the regulations in pursuit of world domination simply can't be accepted. You can't have two title contenders playing by different rules.