Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola defiant after club faces 'Fair Play' allegations
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has defended the club's record after it was charged with 115 breaches of the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play rules.
He had previously said that he would leave the club if accusations that City had broken the rules were true.
The Blues had already overturned a European competition ban for breaching UEFA’s FFP regulations following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2020.
The new charges relate to a nine-year period from 2009.
At a club news conference ahead of their game against Aston Villa this weekend Guardiola said: “My first thought is we’ve already been condemned, as happened with UEFA. We had accusations.
"The club proved we were completely innocent. You know what side I am on.”
He went on to criticise some outside parties for being quick to pass judgement: “We are lucky we live in a country where everyone is innocent until proven guilty. It seems like we have already been sentenced.
“What is going to happen, I don’t know. We think we have good lawyers and I know we are going to defend our position.”
Guardiola claimed his players will not be affected by the matter.
He said: “We have trained like normal to try to beat Aston Villa. The court will dictate what happens. I am fully convinced that we will be innocent.”
There have been reports the matter could take years to resolve, but Guardiola is confident his work will not be overly affected by a potentially long investigation.
He said: “This happened with UEFA. I don’t think we are going to talk about this every single day. We just have to focus on the pitch.”
And also he insisted he is going nowhere, adding: "I am not moving from this seat, I can assure you. I want to stay more than ever.”
Asked if he believes the charges have been driven by rival clubs his response was simple: “Of course – it is the Premier League. I don’t know why. You have to ask the CEOs, Daniel Levy, these kind of people.”
City could face heavy punishment, including points deductions and expulsion from the Premier League, if found guilty.Guardiola would not be drawn on why he felt other clubs would push for City to be sanctioned, but suggested they should be careful what they wish for.The 52-year-old is confident City will be exonerated but intimated other clubs could fall foul in the future.He said: “It is difficult for me to answer, I don’t know, but they open a precedent now, with what they have done to us.“Be careful in the future because many clubs can make suggestions and a lot of clubs can be accused, like we are accused, without being innocent.“When they push to get rid of us, it is obvious they believe we didn’t behave properly. We can accept that but let us defend (ourselves).”