Manchester City’s rivals believe that Pep Guardiola’s passionate rant in Friday’s press conference may be libellous after the Spaniard name-checked eight clubs whom he said are lobbying against the defending Premier League champions, according to reports.
He also singled out Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy as he issued a staunch defence of City’s decision-makers, who have been accused of more than 100 breaches of Financial Fair Play regulations over a 14-year period.
Several club executives have strongly denied pushing the Premier League to take action against City, pointing out that the issuing of charges on Monday followed a four-year investigation in which they played no part, according to the Daily Mail.
It is also said that Levy has received messages of support from a number of clubs in response to the claims made by Guardiola.
The City manager’s assessment of the situation drew plenty of ire from across the Premier League, not least because it came just a day after club executive Ferran Soriano was spotted shaking hands with other bigwigs at a meeting in London.
This reportedly went down badly among other members of the top flight given the nature of the allegations made against City earlier this week.
The one-time Champions League finalists have already started to build an all-star legal team in preparation for their case to be heard by an independent commission, with City adamant that no wrongdoing has ever taken place.
They are said to have appointed top lawyer Lord Pannick KC, who previously advised former prime minister Boris Johnson over the Partygate scandal, to defend them against the charges levelled by the Premier League on Monday.
