Tuchel admits City players may have discussed 115 charges but felt no distraction in Spain defeat

Thomas Tuchel has admitted he can imagine Manchester City’s players discussed the club’s guilty verdicts in the Premier League’s 115-charge case during England’s international camp, but insists he detected no distraction from the three City players he started against Spain on Saturday.

England fell 3-2 to Spain less than 24 hours after the verdict that could fundamentally reshape City’s future. Guehi and O’Reilly both made errors that contributed to goals, prompting questions about whether the news had affected the squad. Captain Harry Kane dismissed the suggestion, saying England players routinely set club matters aside on international duty.

Tuchel echoed that view while stopping short of dismissing the significance of the ruling entirely. “Not for me, but I can imagine maybe for the Man City players, and I will not comment on that. It’s an ongoing investigation so I will not give any comment to that,” he said.

“I didn’t make it a topic. It was no topic for me in camp. I hear news as the latest person in camp — I’m just thinking about Spain and training and media meetings and team meetings. The players have more time than me, so for sure I can imagine that they talk about it, but it’s good that they do, and I didn’t feel them distracted.”

The England manager’s decision to start all three City players — Guehi, O’Reilly and Elliot Anderson — underlined that he had no reservations about their readiness to perform.

Meanwhile, Spain midfielder Rodri, who played the full match against England, had stated in a press conference on Friday that he still believes in City’s innocence. City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak also published an open letter to supporters on Saturday, insisting the club’s position remains unchanged following the verdict.