Following Manchester City's guilty-on-all-charges ruling that was made official on Tuesday, the discussion is now around how the club should be appropriately sanctioned, and what punishment fits the crime of decade-long, institutionalised cheating.
The other major talking point surrounds which clubs and individuals were most negatively impacted by this. Well, Tottenham Hotspur's name is certainly on this list. Alongside Man City, Spurs turned the big four into a big six, albeit in contrasting ways, so how different would the club's history and present state be had the Sky Blues not broken countless rules over a long period of time?
Well, we look back at the seasons in question to attempt to solve this impossible question.
2009/10: Tottenham finished fourth
Manchester City's charges began in 2009 and, that season, Tottenham's biggest match of the campaign was at the newly renamed Etihad Stadium. In the penultimate fixture of the season, the two sides went head-to-head for a place in the Champions League, the winner knowing fourth place was theirs.
With only eight minutes to go, Peter Crouch scored the only goal of the night, sparking wild celebrations for Harry Redknapp and his team. This would see Spurs qualify for Europe's top-tier competition for the first time since a run to the semi-finals in 1962.
2010/11: Tottenham finished fifth
The following season, Redknapp's team reached the Champions League quarter-finals, eliminating A.C. Milan en route, but failed to qualify for the tournament again. The Lilywhites finished fifth, below third-place Man City, so this is the first of many instances the club could seek compensation.
2011/12: Tottenham finished fourth
In 2012, Tottenham famously finished fourth, but were bumped out of the Champions League places due to sixth-placed Chelsea's triumph in Munich. The rules have since been changed, with Redknapp very unfortunate to lose his job on this basis, but this is the second successive season in which Spurs were potentially cheated out of Champions League revenue.
2012/13: Tottenham finished fifth
During André Villas-Boas' one season in charge at White Hart Lane, Tottenham finished, yup, you guessed it, just outside the Champions League places, one point below Arsenal. Something of a pattern developing.
2013/14: Tottenham finished sixth
During this campaign, with Spurs spiralling under AVB, he was sacked and replaced by Tim Sherwood, who stabilised and guided the team to sixth place, but nothing to really shout about.
2014/15: Tottenham finished fifth & League Cup Finalists
Now is the start of the Mauricio Pochettino era in N17, albeit Tottenham's fortunes did not turn around straight away. They reached the Capital One Cup Final, beaten by Chelsea, and finished fifth once again, denied Champions League football by skulduggery going on elsewhere.
2015/16: Tottenham finished third
This is the season that Spurs famously put in the closest title challenge to Leicester but, after failing to win any of their final four games, finished third. Unlike most rivals, Tottenham actually finished above Manchester City, who came fourth, during this period, so that's something.
2016/17: Tottenham finished second
Tottenham's highest finish since 1963 was achieved in 2017, finishing second behind Chelsea, who too have been punished for financial irregularities. Thus, Pochettino believes this Premier League title should be handed to Spurs, but this has no relation to Man City's charges.
2017/18: Tottenham finished third
During the full year at Wembley, Pochettino guided Spurs to third in the Premier League, behind a Man City side that finished on 100 points so, without them, Tottenham would have seriously challenged José Mourinho's Manchester United for the title.
Subsequent seasons
Of course, Manchester City were only found guilty of impropriety between the years of 2009 and 2018, but they have obviously benefited from this proven cheating in the years that have followed. Thus, perhaps Ryan Mason will get a Carabao Cup winners' medal for his first match in charge, while Spurs' slide down the table has, in part, been due to the massively inflated transfer market, caused in no small part by Man City's over spending.
Who know how different English football would have looked without them but, for certain, one of the teams who suffered most is undeniably Spurs.
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