Manager Pep Guardiola has stated that Manchester City’s Premier League rivals are eager to see the club penalized for alleged breaches of the league’s financial regulations.
Guardiola expressed his satisfaction that the hearing into City’s 115 charges will commence on Monday.
The charges, which were referred to an independent commission in February 2023, stem from a four-year investigation into alleged violations of the Premier League’s financial rules between 2009 and 2018.
Manchester City vehemently denies all charges and asserts that their case is backed by a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence.”
Javier Tebas, president of Spain’s La Liga and a long-time critic of City, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi-backed City Football Group, has frequently accused City, along with Qatar-backed PSG, of being state clubs involved in “financial doping.”
Tebas claims he has consulted with numerous Premier League clubs and believes there is a strong desire among them to see the reigning champions face punishment.
“I have spoken with many Premier League clubs and most of them understand that City should be sanctioned,” he was quoted as saying by Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
Responding to these comments on Friday, former Barcelona boss Guardiola said: “For the first time I agree with Tebas.
“All the Premier League teams want us to be sanctioned, that is for sure. But that’s why I say to Mr Tebas and the Premier League teams, wait for the independent panel.
“Justice is there in a modern democracy. It’s not more complicated than that.
“I don’t know if he is a lawyer or the rest of the Premier League teams are lawyers, so I ask for that. It happened with Uefa.
“We believe we have not done anything wrong.”
Dubbed as sport’s “trial of the century,” the proceedings are expected to last for 10 weeks, with a verdict anticipated in early 2025.
The Premier League has also accused Manchester City of failing to cooperate with its investigation.
When the investigation began, City described the allegations as “entirely false” and claimed that the initial reports, published by German newspaper Der Spiegel, were based on “illegal hacking and out-of-context publication of City emails.”
If found guilty of the most serious charges, City could face severe penalties, including a points deduction that might lead to relegation or even expulsion from the Premier League.
City have won eight league titles, multiple cups and the Champions League since their 2008 Abu Dhabi takeover.
“It starts soon and hopefully finishes soon,” Guardiola said of the hearing. “An independent panel will decide and I am looking forward to the decision.
“I’m happy it’s starting on Monday. I know there will be more rumours, new specialists about the sentences. We’re going to see. I know what people are looking forward to, what they expect, I know, what I read for many, many years.
“Everybody is innocent until guilt is proven. So we’ll see.”
What are the 115 charges?
• 54x Failure to provide accurate financial information 2009-10 to 2017-18.
• 14x Failure to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18.
• 5x Failure to comply with Uefa’s rules including Financial Fair Play (FFP) 2013-14 to 2017-18.
• 7x Breaching Premier League’s PSR rules 2015-16 to 2017-18.
• 35x Failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations December 2018 – February 2023.