Aymeric Laporte Says Champions League Ban Will Hurt Manchester City a Lot

Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte has said that the Citizens' UEFA Champions League ban will hurt the club a lot.

Pep Guardiola's side have been banned from Europe's top competition for the next two seasons after breaching financial fair play (FFP) regulations, but City have announced they will appeal the decision.

Laporte told The Times (h/t Goal's Chris Burton) he remains happy at the Etihad Stadium, even though he may be unable to play Champions League football for the next two seasons:

"We are waiting for a final decision. We are going to see what happens next season. Obviously it would hurt us a lot if we aren't in the Champions League next season.

"I am very happy here at Manchester City. I am enjoying my football here. We are doing great things here. In the last two years, we have won eight trophies."

Manchester City have never won the Champions League but are in good shape to qualify for the quarter-finals in 2019-20 after beating Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

The competition has been suspended because of the current coronavirus pandemic, but there is optimism it can be completed by the end of June, per ESPN's Dale Johnson:

Manchester City's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport may also be affected by the pandemic. The club were expecting a hearing in "early summer," but that now looks "unrealistic," according to Reuters (h/t the Observer, via the Guardian).  

The CAS have since announced they will not hear any appeals before May 1, per football writer Tariq Panja:

If Manchester City's appeal is not heard before August 26, the decision could be suspended, according to AS (h/t Sean Lunt at Sport Witness).