Ian Wright has called for 'unprecedented punishment' for Manchester City and also spoke about Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp
Ian Wright
Ian Wright has spoke about the impact Man City's verdict may have on Liverpool(Image: ITV)
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Arsenal legend Ian Wright expressed sympathy for former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp when reacting to Manchester City being found guilty of financial breaches, stating that the toll of battling the club 'probably broke him'. The Premier League confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that City had been found guilty by an independent commission, three years after the club were first charged back in 2023.
Liverpool regularly battled City for the Premier League title during Klopp's tenure as the club’s manager before his departure in 2024, finishing second with more than 90 points on two occasions.
In their statement, the Premier League listed four reasons explaining why City had been found guilty, which led to the club issuing their own response, where they maintain their innocence, and express their "disappointment" and "surprise" at the announcement.
Wright, who first called for City to face punishment when the story emerged last week, has reiterated his stance following the Premier League's latest announcement.
The former Arsenal striker also spoke about Liverpool, who will face City in their first Premier League match after the international break on October 11.
"It's cheating on an industrial scale. It's quite surreal seeing it written down like that," Wright told ITV Sport.
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"The amount of stick I've taken off that. Unprecedented punishment is required here. It's a massive day for the Premier League. They've taken on a whole country, massive.
"Very messy. It's a problem for them to be going to Liverpool (in their next fixture). In their real time, Liverpool were the team chasing them down. Look at what Jurgen Klopp went through to break them - it probably broke him.
"It's so sad. It's probably going to get very litigious."
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Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane joined Wright in voicing his opinion on why he believes City deserve punishment based on the independent commission's findings.
"It's very damaging for the league, the brand is huge all over the world, but for them [City] to be caught cheating, they deserve that punishment," Keane said.
"It's bittersweet. You deserve to be punished, but it's not good for the league. What about the players who have been part of the problem, new players, what happens now going forward?"
City released a statement on Tuesday evening which read: "Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission, that has been published today.
"The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. The Club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.
"The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements uncompleted. Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.
"The Club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.
"The Club is obviously restricted in what it can say further until all future proceedings are complete."