Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has once again questioned the actions of nine Premier League clubs.
City were hit with over 100 charges of financial rules on Monday and potential punishments could involve them being stripped of their titles.
Pep Guardiola’s side face the prospects of a points deduction or even expulsion should they be found guilty for charges relating to financial information, profitability and sustainability, player and manager remuneration, failure to cooperate and UEFA regulations.
The charges come less than three years since Manchester City successfully overturned a two-year ban from European competitions at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Nine Premier League teams wrote a controversial letter ahead of proceedings at CAS attempting to have City kicked out of the Champions League.
Ahead of this weekend’s match, Pep Guardiola once again questioned the intentions of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Leicester, Wolves, Burnley and Newcastle.
“What these nine teams has done. I said before what happened last Monday, yeah? What these nine teams has done I don’t forget it. These nine teams. And I don’t forget what they have done.
“They want the position [for] the Champions League for the big amount of money to pay the stadiums they built, so it’s okay,” said a passionate Guardiola.
What punishment City could face if found guilty is unclear but points deductions, transfer embargoes, being stripped of titles or even expulsion from the competition are possibilities.
Whatever the outcome, however, Guardiola is adamant that no-one can take away from the people involved what City achieved in those years.
City won four Premier League titles during the period that was investigated, two of which were overseen by Guardiola.
The Catalan said: “Come on, they belong to us. Absolutely, they belong to us. Regardless of the sentence, they belong to us.
“The moment from Sergio Aguero, with Balotelli slipping him in… I don’t know if we are responsible for Steven Gerrard slipping. In that situation at Anfield I didn’t want that, for respect for Steven Gerrard, but is it our fault?
“Come on. That belongs to us, and the moments that we lived these years together.
“OK, the Premier League will decide but I know what we won, and the way we won it, with the effort we put in.
“For something that happened in 2009 or 2010 – I don’t how long ago it was – this is not going to change that one second.”
City will face a hearing before an independent commission but the process could take many months, perhaps even years.
Guardiola has urged club and fans to stick together.
He said: “We will have to move closer together than ever – no matter if we are alone – in the toughest moments that will come.”
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