Guardiola gives personal verdict on Manchester City’s financial breach

Former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has backed the club’s owners and leadership after the Premier League found the club guilty of breaching financial rules. 

Guardiola said he would continue to stand by City and its supporters as the club prepares to appeal.

An independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to financial-rule breaches between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, as well as all but one of the charges concerning failure to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation.

The commission also found that the club used what it described as “sham contracts” involving commercial partners to disguise more than £830 million in funding.

Guardiola, who managed City from 2016 until his departure last summer, said he remained fully behind the club. 

He also expressed confidence that City would overcome the situation, having previously stated in 2024 that he would remain with the club even if they were relegated as a result of the charges.

The verdict has drawn emotional reactions from former City players and other football figures. 

Former defender Micah Richards said he was devastated by the findings, while acknowledging that City had continued to deny wrongdoing. 

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, said the findings could affect how City’s achievements are viewed and questioned whether their Premier League titles should remain on the club’s record.

Manchester City have rejected the commission’s findings and maintain they have done nothing wrong. 

Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said the club remained confident it could prove its position, while chief executive Ferran Soriano claimed the commission had ignored evidence supporting City’s case.

The club has until 2 October to submit an appeal, with any further consequences to be determined after the appeals process. 

Guardiola’s backing comes as City face continued uncertainty over the verdict’s potential sporting and financial implications, following a decade in which he guided the club to six Premier League titles, a Champions League, three FA Cups and five League Cups.