Pep Guardiola drops statement on Man City charges verdict as Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs watch on
Manchester City icon Pep Guardiola has broken his silence on the club being found guilty of all financial charges(Image: (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images) )
Pep Guardiola has admitted he is behind his former club Manchester City after speaking for the first time since they were found guilty of 114 financial charges. The Premier League confirmed that outcome following an eight-week hearing from nearly two years ago and now Guardiola has had his say on the situation.
Accompanied by some photos of his best moments at the club, he wrote on X: "I want every single @ManCity fan to know I am here; more than ever.
"I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman [Khaldoon Al Mubarak], 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 joined City in 2016 and remained their head coach until earlier this summer when he departed after a decade at the club filled with trophies.
Those honours are now under a huge microscope after an independent panel found that City breached numerous financial regulations over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018. A portion of the charges are in relation to failing to co-operate with the Premier League's investigation and that is the singular breach that could not be proven.
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The club are planning to appeal against the decision, though, as formally confirmed in a statement from CEO Ferran Soriano.
Guardiola admitted he would quit the club with immediate effect if he found out that they were lying to him about their believed innocence over the financial breaches they had been accused of.
City have maintained throughout the investigation, which started in February 2023, that they are not guilty. That has remained the case even after the official announcement from the Premier League that revealed City had been "relying on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs".
Man City's Premier League title victories are under significant scrutiny
Through doing that City were able to boost their financial position by a staggering £900million with Premier League clubs stunned by the sheer amount of money, as per The Times.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham are among the teams to have been impacted by City's actions over the last 15 or so years with most top-flight sides wanting them to suffer relegation and others planning legal action.
That process will only follow a hearing for their appeal and potential sanctions if the decision is not overturned with it also stated that English clubs want the situation resolved by the end of the season.
However, that does not appear guaranteed with Soriano stating to members at the European Football Clubs board in Copenhagen on Monday that "it's going to take a lot more time," before the process is complete.
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