Stuart Pearce believes that the outcome of Man City’s appeal against UEFA's decision to ban them from the Champions League could have implications for their recruitment.
City were handed a two-year ban from UEFA competition, plus a £25m fine, for 'serious breaches' of Financial Fair Play regulations back in February.
However, the club has always maintained their innocence and fought to have their case heard at an impartial hearing, which starts today and is likely to last until Wednesday.
But already there has been plenty of speculation over what might happen if the club’s appeal fails, with the rumour mill going into overdrive about who might stay and leave the Etihad.
And Pearce believes that not only would a ban impact their recruitment in the coming years, but City also face the prospect of losing some of their star players.
“The biggest thing is losing their better players. That is a big worry,” he told talkSPORT on Monday morning.
“The squad they have at the moment, will they lose any players from that, and on top of that recruitment.
“I know what players are like when you are trying to bring them into a club. They want to play Champions League football.
"It is a big, big thing for any player. To be outside Champions League football it will affect whether they go to Man City or Liverpool, or wherever they want to go.”
