Football: We've already been condemned, says Man City's Guardiola over charges

MANCHESTER – Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City have already been “condemned” after being charged by the Premier League

with over 100 breaches of financial rules since 2009.

Speaking for the first time on Friday since the reigning champions were hit with the charges last week, Guardiola gave an impassioned defence of the club he joined in 2016 and whom he has taken to four Premier League titles.

He also said that the charges were driven by the other Premier League clubs and that if City were found guilty and, in the worst-case scenario, relegated, they would take their punishment and work their way back to the top flight.

“My first thought is that we are already being condemned,” the City boss said ahead of Sunday’s home clash against Aston Villa, who are 11th in the standings.

“It’s the same as what happened after Uefa (charges). These are just charges. With Uefa, the club proved it was completely innocent. We are lucky we live in a marvellous country where everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

“We didn’t have this opportunity, we are already sentenced.”

The charges against City stem from a Premier League investigation into their financial dealings launched four years ago, after the release of a tranche of “Football Leaks” documents obtained by the German publication Der Spiegel.

The club were subsequently barred from the Champions League by European governing body Uefa for two years, but successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which

overturned the ban in 2020.

“We have a good lawyer. And I think the Premier League, supported by 19 teams, are going to take good lawyers too to defend their position,” added Guardiola.

“I would have loved to wait and see to find out what happens but just in case we are not innocent we will accept what the judge and the Premier League decides.

“But if the same situation with Uefa happens, and we are innocent, what happens to restore or pay back our damage?“

City have won the Premier League title six times since the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008 and Guardiola suggested that their success meant there was an agenda against them by rival clubs.

He also warned that other clubs should look at their own affairs before condemning City.

“What they have done to us be careful in the future because many clubs can be accused like we have been accused,” he said.

“That they are pushing to get rid of us out of the competition, that is obvious because they believe that we didn’t behave properly. We accept that but let us defend when we believe we did it properly.”

Guardiola has previously said he would walk away if he found he had been lied to by the City hierarchy over allegations that they broke financial fair play (FFP) rules.

He recently extended his contract at the Etihad until 2025 and insisted that he will stay put regardless of what happens.

“I’m not moving from this seat. I can assure you more than ever I want to stay,” the Spaniard said.

“Sometimes I have doubts because seven or eight years is a long time at one club but now I don’t want to move on.

“People say ‘they (the hierarchy) lied to you’. They didn’t lie to me. Look what happened at Uefa. Now it is the same case. Why should I not trust my people and trust the other CEOs of the other clubs?“

The charges against City, the world’s

highest revenue-generating club last season

according to Deloitte, will be heard by an independent commission.

Guardiola will hope that the off-field controversy will not affect matters on the pitch. The team have not been at their best, with three defeats in their past six matches in all competitions, and will be looking to bounce back against Villa on Sunday.

“Against 19 teams we are alone, that’s for sure. We have to beat Aston Villa, like always we have done it. Nineteen clubs are not going to help us. We just have to focus on the pitch, the players will be focused on the game.” 

City will be missing John Stones while Villa’s Jed Steer and Diego Carlos are both out of the clash.

“It’s a very difficult match. Maybe it’s going to be more difficult now with the issues they are having,” Villa boss Unai Emery said. “They’re going to be together and they are going to try and respond on the pitch against us.” REUTERS, AFP