, a features writer for the Guardian, has been a Manchester City fan for more than 50 years. He was very young – and recovering from a childhood illness that had nearly killed him – when he started going to matches in his home town with his dad.

For a long time, it was a relationship built on occasional highs and many, many lows. But then something extraordinary happened: Manchester City's fortune began to turn and it had a glittering decade – until it all came crashing down.

As the Guardian sports writer explains to Manchester City has been found guilty of cheating their way to the top, pumping more than £900m of illegal income into the club since 2008. But the story of its catastrophic fall from grace is bigger than just one club, and tells a tale of how the Premier League and the UK have been changed by a huge influx of foreign money.