Guardiola Backs City Amid Fallout From Financial Verdict

Former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola voiced his strong support for the club on Wednesday after they were found guilty of more than 100 breaches of Premier League financial rules.

Guardiola won 20 trophies during a glittering 10 years at the helm before departing in May.

“I want every single @ManCity fan to know I am here; more than ever,” the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach posted on X.

“I am, always have been, always will be behind my club, my owner, my chairman (CEO) Ferran (Soriano), the players, staff, Enzo (Maresca), and you, our unique supporters.

“Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all.”

Guardiola’s comments come days after the English Premier League said on Tuesday that Manchester City had been found guilty of serious breaches of the league’s financial rules over a nine-season period between 2009 and 2018.

They were found guilty of more than 100 charges relating to breaches of Premier League financial rules.

The club was found to have arranged sham contracts with a number of commercial partners to artificially inflate the club’s revenues, concealing the true state of their finances and avoiding breaches of the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits.

An independent commission also found the club guilty on the majority of charges in relation to their failure to co-operate with the league’s investigation.

Although no sanction has yet been imposed, City have always denied the charges.

They also said they would appeal against the decision.

The club’s chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said that the club was confident they could prove their innocence.

City have become the Premier League’s dominant force since a 2008 takeover by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, vice-president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates

The club has won eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups and seven League Cups over the past 15 years and also won the Champions League for the first time in 2023.

AFP