After Man City was found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a nine-season period, Jamie Carragher has sympathized with one particular player
Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher has expressed profound sympathy for Kevin De Bruyne now that his Manchester City career could be permanently overshadowed by a 'sham'
Jamie Carragher specifically named Kevin De Bruyne as a player he feels sorry for after Manchester City was found guilty by an independent commission this week.
The Cityzens have been accused of systematically breaking Premier League rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, ranging from arranged "sham" commercial deals and contracts to deliberately concealing the true state of its finances, and now has until Friday, October 2, to formally submit its appeal.
Man City has, of course, strongly denied all wrongdoing, with Chief Executive Ferran Soriano even branding the verdict a "Premier League conspiracy theory", while the club has also pledged to be relentless in clearing its name.
Amidst the ongoing fallout from the commission's verdict, which is considered a "final award" on the facts of the case, Carragher has accused City's hierarchy of "gaslighting" its own players, former players, and supporters.
Reacting to the verdict on Sky Sports Premier League on Wednesday, the former Liverpool captain detailed how senior management manipulated the people closest to the club, and expressed particular sympathy for ex-City midfielder De Bruyne.
"I'd be furious. I actually feel for the Man City players," Carragher began when asked what would be going through his mind as a City player, past or present.
Kevin De Bruyne (R)
De Bruyne (R) helped Man City to the 2017-18 Premier League trophy - the historic 100-point 'Centurions' season
"To think of a player like Kevin De Bruyne, who's one of the greatest players I've ever seen, he could have played for any team in the world. He still would have been one of the best players, but he chose his club to be Manchester City.
"Now, one of those reasons he may have chosen them may have been his wages, that maybe were inflated because of the situation around Man City and what they've been charged with.
"But if he sits there at the end of his career now and the world looks at his Manchester City career - 10 years of service - as a 'sham', the word the Premier League used, I would be furious, absolutely furious, that people are looking at my career like that because of what's going on upstairs.
"Those people upstairs have continually told the players, because I have spoken to certain players about it, that everything was fine and they were not going to get done for anything."
He added: "What Manchester City's hierarchy are coming out with in the last couple of days as well; they're just gaslighting. The longer this goes on, the less support there will be from ex-City players."
It was a damning verdict from Carragher, but one that is likely to be shared by many, especially those of a Man City persuasion, given that the players were entirely unaware they were being misled.
For someone like De Bruyne, in particular, who was at the Etihad Stadium for a large chunk of the 2009-2018 window of systemic financial manipulation, having joined in 2015, his achievements on the pitch could now be heavily overshadowed.