Manchester City could be in serious trouble.

The Premier League champions have been referred to UEFA’s financial control body adjudicatory chamber over allegations they have broken Financial Fair Play rules.

And UEFA investigators want City’s punishment to be a ban from the Champions League for one season.

The club are alleged to have broken FFP regulations by inflating the value of a multimillion-pound sponsorship deal.

City have denied any wrongdoing.

“Manchester City is entirely confident of a positive outcome when the matter is considered by an independent judicial body,” read a City statement.

It is unlikely that any punishment will apply to next season’s Champions League because City are likely to appeal. The case could even be taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

How much could City miss out on?

But City will miss out on a large sum of money if they do miss the competition for one season.

Clubs that play in the Champions League share a large pool of money - €2.04bn will be distributed to clubs that competed in the 2018/19 competition and the 2018 UEFA Super Cup.

And it’s possible to work out how much City will have earned from their run to the quarter-final.

Every club that qualifies for the group stage receives a payment of €15.25m.

Performance bonuses then come into play. Clubs receive €2.7m per win and €900,000 per draw in the group stage.

Then, additional payments are handed out depending on how far each club goes in the knockout stage.

  • Qualification for the round of 16: €9.5m per club
  • Qualification for the quarter-finals: €10.5m per club
  • Qualification for the semi-finals: €12m per club
  • Qualification for the final: €15m per club

The winner of the Champions League receives an extra €4m.

The two clubs that qualify for the UEFA Super Cup pick up €3.5m and the winners take home an additional €1m.

City could miss out on €86.95m

So, the winners of the Champions League - which is City's ambition each season - earn a sizeable amount.

If a team wins all six group games, goes on to win the competition and then wins the UEFA Super Cup, they take home €86.95m.

City earned €46.95m this season

So, how much did City earn in 2018/19?

Qualifying for the group stage saw them receive €15.25m.

They won four group games and drew one, meaning they made €11.7m

Their run to the quarter-final then earned them €20m.

In total, that’s €46.95m.

And the figure will be higher than that. An estimated €292m will also be distributed between the clubs from the TV market pool.

So City are set to miss out on a sizeable amount if they are banned from the Champions League.