Premier League champions Manchester City said Tuesday they were concerned "individuals intent on damaging" the club may be behind a news report that European football's financial regulators are poised to recommend they be barred from the Champions League.

European football's governing body UEFA and the Premier League launched an investigation this year after allegations made in German magazine Der Spiegel that the club broke Financial Fair Play rules.

The New York Times said Monday that members of the investigatory chamber of UEFA's financial control board, set up to analyze the accounts of clubs suspected of breaking cost-control regulations, met two weeks ago in Switzerland to finalize their conclusions.

"The investigatory panel's leader, the former prime minister of Belgium Yves Leterme, will have the final say on the submission to a separate adjudicatory chamber, which could be filed as soon as this week. The body is expected to seek at least a one-season ban," said the Times.