Guardiola returns to Etihad to watch PSG clash as City's £900m verdict fallout deepens

Pep Guardiola will return to the Etihad Stadium for the first time since leaving Manchester City in May, attending Wednesday’s Champions League group stage match against Paris Saint-Germain as a visible gesture of support for his former club following their landmark financial rules verdict.

An independent commission recently found City guilty of 114 charges of breaching Premier League financial regulations, concluding that the club used “sham” contracts to artificially inflate their revenue by more than £900m across a nine-year period. City are appealing against the verdict, but potential sanctions include expulsion from the Premier League or a points deduction severe enough to make relegation a realistic prospect.

Guardiola, who now serves as a global ambassador for the City Football Group, was not personally accused or charged in the proceedings. He nonetheless made his position clear in a statement posted on Instagram last week: “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, Enzo [Maresca] and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all.”

The Catalan had consistently maintained throughout the lengthy investigation that City were innocent of the charges, and his attendance at Wednesday’s fixture represents a continuation of that public solidarity.

Soriano, City’s chief executive, is a long-standing ally of Guardiola’s from their shared time at Barcelona, while current manager Enzo Maresca served as Guardiola’s assistant during the 2022-23 season in which City won the Champions League.

The Premier League charges covered the period from 2009 to 2018, which includes the opening two seasons of Guardiola’s decade-long tenure at the club. City claimed the Premier League title in 2017-18 with a then-record 100 points.

Guardiola departed in May having accumulated 20 trophies at City, among them six Premier League titles and the club’s first Champions League. The Etihad’s South Stand was renamed in his honour before his exit, making Wednesday’s visit his first back at the ground since that farewell.