Manchester City going to war with UEFA did not remotely feel like a surprise.
Both organisations were obviously determined in 2020 to protect their reputation, yet UEFA's decision to (try to) expel the Blues from Champions League came after years of disagreements; City fans had booed the Champions League anthem for years before the serious charges were levelled at the club, and with good reason. As much as the bad blood in 2020 worsened relations between the two big beasts, they had not been on that sound a footing to begin with.
While City are facing similar charges from the Premier League, the relationship has been very different. Given the Blues have won six league titles under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour, they have been one of the best-selling points the league have had as they have grown to accrue comfortably more financial power than any of the other European leagues.
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Of course, there have been bumps along the road. Richard Scudamore's comments that the Premier League wouldn't want a repeat of City's 100-point season did not go down well at the Etihad, and there were a few grumbles from there over a Christmas schedule that appeared to give their title rivals a helping hand.
On the other side, the league were obviously fuming with City's role in the breakaway European Super League that would have ripped the heart (and the selling point) out of the Premier League. That took some apology from City, although it helped their case that they were last in and first out of the rebel gang and that Pep Guardiola was the first high-profile manager to speak out against the plans; as had been clear with the ill-fated Project Big Picture, it was clear that other clubs in the league were driving change far more aggressively than City were.
It has been a mutually beneficial partnership between the Premier League and City, with each helping the other to achieve the remarkable growth they have achieved in the last decade. Each has used the other to lift themselves higher.
That was plainly evident in 2019, when City were the marquee name in the Premier League Asia Trophy held in China. It was the same summer that it was made known just how co-operative City had been to the league investigation into their finances and how happy the league were with that.
Given the Blues have since been charged for failing to co-operate in that season, what has changed? Or was one of the rare indications coming out of the investigation in five long years a falsehood in an attempt to draw attention away from what was really happening?
The reality is that the manner the Premier League delivered the serious news to City on Monday has stung inside the Etihad, a cheap tactic that didn't take into account the value of their relationship. Ferran Soriano may not be passing the port at what could be a frosty Premier League dinner on Thursday night, and it remains to be seen what the revelations this week will do to what was a partnership where both sides were working together.
The allegations will tear at least one of them apart at the seams by the end, but what happens in the meantime? Can they still work in harmony together with all of this going on in the background?
This is not something that will pass in days like the Super League, or months like UEFA's attempted punishment. The Premier League going to war with City could have more consequences than anyone was ready for.
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