Manchester City will be forced to make massive changes if they are booted out of the Premier League

Worried Manchester City stars have reportedly queried if they can get out of their contracts if the club is kicked out of the Premier League. The eight-time Premier League champions are reeling after being found guilty of breaching 114 Premier League rules.

City, who maintain their innocence, have appealed against the verdict by an independent commission. If the commission's decision is upheld, potential punishments include being stripped of titles, a points deduction and expulsion from the Premier League.

The latter would be a disastrous prospect for everyone associated with the club and would cast doubt on the future of their expensively assembled squad, as it would be unthinkable to see the likes of Erling Haaland playing in the EFL or National League.

It could also see the club's top stars take a huge financial hit, as they are reportedly in line for bonuses of up to £400,000 for winning the Champions League.

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The Times reports that once the verdict dropped, players were asking their agents about potential punishments, the consequences of not playing in UEFA's top club competition and whether there was any way to extract themselves from their contracts in the event of relegation.

The report adds that there are no relegation clauses in players' contracts, meaning the club would have to dramatically cut costs and be forced into a fire sale of its leading talent.

Publicly, the players have flat-batted questions about the guilty verdict. Ahead of Sunday's trip to Liverpool, where City can expect a hostile reception from The Kop, manager Enzo Maresca insisted he had 100 per cent trust in the club and expects the appeal to be successful.

The Italian, who replaced Pep Guardiola in the summer, said: "The reason why I joined this club is because I completely trust, 100 per cent, the owner, the CEO, the sporting director, the whole organisation. I don't have any doubt about that.

"There is not another club in the world where I would like to be. I am very happy to be here, I am very proud, as I’ve said since day one.

"I would like to speak about this situation when we are going to win the appeal. I completely trust the club in this moment, in the future, always."

Guardiola, who often struck a similarly defiant tone in relation to the charges, once said he would stay at the club and manage in League One if they were relegated. Asked if he would do the same, Maresca said: "I won the Championship with Leicester. So in case [of] League One, we are going to see, but we are thinking about something that we don’t know.

"What happens if we win the appeal? I don't know. We are predicting the future. I'm worried about tomorrow, in two days, three days. I don't know what is happening in the future.

"It is fair, from my point of view, from all of us, to respect the process. There is an appeal ongoing. We will see what happens."