Pep Guardiola has sent his support to former club Manchester City following the guilty charges passed down to the club this week regarding breaches of financial rules.
On Tuesday an independent commission found that City had arranged “sham contracts with a number of commercial partners, with the Premier League finding the club guilty of all charges related to breaches of financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 campaigns.
Guardiola enjoyed a hugely successful decade in charge at City from 2016 through to last summer.
Amid constant questions in recent years regarding the charges, which were first brought against the club in 2023, Guardiola has always fiercely trusted his employers.
Now, months after his exit from the club, he has taken to social media to back his old club. Writing on Twitter/X, the Catalan said: “I want every single Manchester City fan across the world to know I am here; more than ever. I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran [Soriano], the players, staff, [manager] Enzo [Maresca] and you, our unique supporters.
“Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all.”
City continue to deny any wrongdoing and have until Friday (October 2) to submit an appeal.
Meanwhile, former City defender-turned-pundit Micah Richards described the developments at his old club as “absolutely devastating”.
“The reports were troubling,” Richards said on The Rest is Football podcast. “I saw the words which were used by the Premier League in ‘sham contracts’ and I felt absolutely devastated.
“I was at that club since I was 14, I would die for that club. I achieved my dream at Manchester City, but then to hear these reports, and not only me as an ex-player, but the fans, what they have to go through, absolutely devastating.
“To have a headline of this nature for a club that I love so much, it’s been difficult. If you listen to the reports, they are damning. I feel saddened, I feel angry, I feel a little bit confused because, on the other side, you have City’s side of the story.”
