Kompany deflects Man City charges verdict questions to focus on Bayern Munich role

Vincent Kompany distanced himself from Manchester City’s financial charges verdict on Friday, telling reporters ahead of Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga trip to Augsburg that he is entirely focused on his coaching duties and has no room to dwell on his former club’s situation.

An independent panel this week found City guilty of 114 financial charges relating to the period between 2009 and 2018, accusing the club of operating ‘sham’ contracts as part of a ‘disguised funding scheme’ that reduced costs by over £900m. City have denied wrongdoing and launched an appeal. No punishment has yet been confirmed, though possible sanctions discussed publicly include fines, points deductions, title stripping, and demotion from the Premier League.

Kompany, who made 360 appearances for City between 2008 and 2019 and collected four Premier League winners’ medals, was asked directly about the verdict at his pre-match press conference. He declined to engage with the substance of the case.

“I’m only thinking about my work at FC Bayern,” he said. “We have important games coming up, and that takes a lot of time. There’s not much time to think about other stuff.”

The Belgian added: “For me, it’s simple — I played 11 years for the club, and I’ve loved my time there. I’m proud of everything we’ve achieved as a team. Everything else is currently not in my reality, because I’m here at FC Bayern.”

Should the panel’s findings ultimately lead to City’s titles being stripped, Kompany would stand to lose all four of his Premier League winners’ medals from that era.

Kompany is not the only figure connected to City to have spoken publicly since the verdict. Erling Haaland urged supporters to stay positive ahead of City’s Premier League fixture at Liverpool on Sunday, while head coach Enzo Maresca said he retains full trust in the club as the appeal process gets under way.