Guardiola to skip Anfield but plans surprise return for City's Champions League clash with PSG

Pep Guardiola will not be at Anfield for Sunday’s Premier League meeting between Liverpool and Manchester City, but the former City manager is planning a surprise return to the Etihad for the club’s Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, 14 October.

Guardiola, who left City over the summer after more than eight years in charge, told club chiefs he wants to “be with his people” — a visit framed as a direct show of solidarity following the club’s damaging financial rules verdict.

An independent commission recently found City guilty of 114 out of 115 charges relating to breaches of Premier League financial regulations. Among the findings, the commission determined that the club had arranged “sham contracts” and had been relying on them to “inflate their revenues and reduce costs.”

Guardiola has been vocal in his backing of his former employers since the verdict. “I will always be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran, the players, staff…and you,” he said in a statement of support. City, for their part, have maintained their innocence and lodged an appeal against the charges.

The Spaniard has not returned to watch City in any capacity since departing the club, making his planned appearance at the PSG game his first since leaving. His decision to attend that specific fixture — rather than Sunday’s high-profile clash at Anfield — underlines the symbolic weight he is attaching to the visit.