Tuchel reveals City players flooded with messages as charges dominate England camp

Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Manchester City’s Premier League charges are a significant talking point inside the England camp, with City players receiving a wave of messages and phone calls as the fallout from the club being found guilty of breaching spending rules continues to reverberate.

Speaking ahead of England’s UEFA Nations League fixture against Croatia on Saturday, Tuchel acknowledged the situation has been unavoidable in camp. “We speak about it at dinner and at a table of eight or 12 people. Of course, we speak about it at breakfast,” the England manager said. “I know that the Man City players get a lot, a lot of messages and phone calls and feedback about it.”

Tuchel was careful to distinguish between the subject being discussed and it becoming a genuine distraction in training. “I think it is a subject,” he said. “Let’s say it is a subject.” He added that concern among the City players would be “a very human reaction” given the uncertainty surrounding the club’s future, noting they are “young and ambitious” and have been told they are “totally innocent.”

City were found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules in a case involving 115 charges. The potential punishments range from a heavy points deduction to expulsion from the top flight, which could result in relegation.

Among the England players with City connections are Marc Guehi, who joined the club in January, and Elliott Anderson, who arrived for £116 million in the summer. Neither player has a relegation clause in their City contract, leaving their futures tied directly to whatever sanction the club ultimately receives. Nico O’Reilly has returned to City for treatment on an injury and is not in the England squad.

Tuchel was also asked directly whether he would continue to select City players if the club were relegated to the Championship. “There’s always a possibility,” he said. “I think I will always try to pick the best team for the camp, for the occasion, for the tournament, and I will never rule out that they don’t play in the top flight in their country. So you need to look at this case-by-case.”

Both Guehi and Anderson could feature in the starting line-up against Croatia, with Tuchel insisting the situation has not undermined their preparations despite the noise surrounding it.