Guardiola backs Manchester City 'more than ever' as financial verdict fallout deepens

Pep Guardiola has publicly declared his support for Manchester City following the club’s guilty verdict on 114 of 115 Premier League financial charges, posting a statement on X that has been viewed nearly 10 million times.

The former City manager, who left the Etihad Stadium last summer after a decade in charge, wrote: “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, the players, staff, Enzo and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all.” He accompanied the message with photographs from City’s Champions League and Premier League title wins.

Guardiola departed City having won 20 trophies across his tenure, but remained tied to the organisation through City Football Group, the club’s parent company. His ambassador role — confirmed before City’s final game of last season — will see him providing technical advice to clubs within the group and working on specific projects and collaborations.

The Premier League charges, first levied in 2023, relate to alleged financial rule breaches across a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018. City continue to maintain their innocence and an appeal is pending, meaning no punishment has yet been determined. Among the sanctions being discussed is the potential stripping of titles won during the period in question, though it is understood that the Premier League and its member clubs are not uniformly in favour of that course of action.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher argued that title-stripping should be on the table. “I feel for the players — they’ll almost feel like a lot of their career is going to have an asterisk, or a lot of people will be calling it a sham,” he said. “The players were told everything was fine, they would never get done for anything. What the hierarchy are coming out with now, they’re just gaslighting. I think the titles should be taken off their list. Whether other clubs get them is probably slightly different. City have not just hurt their own players.”

Carragher added that the emotional weight of winning a title cannot be replicated: “I don’t look at it years later, but my mind goes back to moments and feelings in my stomach. Those players will never get that feeling and it was robbed.” The scale of any sanction, and the outcome of City’s appeal, is expected to shape one of the most consequential disciplinary processes in English football history.