MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 19: Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku of Manchester City celebrate after the Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on May 19, 2024 in Manchester, England.(Pho
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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 19: Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku of Manchester City celebrate after the Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on May 19, 2024 in Manchester, England.(Pho
Former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane has said he'd be throwing his medals "in the bin" had he won them at Manchester City during the era when the club was in breach of the Premier League's financial rules.
City were found to have engaged in an almost £1billion scheme to either inflate revenues or reduce costs through a series of "sham" arrangements in order to avoid breaching league and UEFA financial regulations.
The eight-time Premier League champions face severe sanctions, although City remain defiant and immediately declared their intention to appeal.
Speaking on ITV, Keane said: "They knew it would hurt a lot of people, but they've still done it, and, if I was a player, I’d be 100% sticking those medals in the bin.
"It’s cheating. You’re hearing nonsense about some ex-players saying, 'Oh well, they won on the pitch’. Because it was cheating! It was cheating going on."
7 September 2024; ITV pundits and former Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane during the UEFA Nations League B Group 2 match between Republic of Ireland and England at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Roy Keane: 'They knew it would hurt a lot of people, but they've still done it'
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards, meanwhile, says the Premier League's damning verdict on the club had left him devastated and heartbroken.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Richards said: "The reports were troubling. I saw the words which were used by the Premier League in sham contracts and I felt absolutely devastated.
"I’ve been at that club since I was 14 years old, I would die for that club. I achieved my dream at Manchester City, but then to hear these reports, and not only me as an ex-player, but the fans, what they have to go through, absolutely devastating."
Richards described speaking to the fan he used to live with as a young player at the club, adding: "My digs man, he rang me and he was literally in tears and asking me about information, which I don’t know, I haven’t got the answers to tell him.
"And that’s someone who’s supported the club for 60-odd years, and the uncertainty around it is just heartbreaking.
"To have a headline of this nature for a club that I love so much, it’s been difficult. If you listen to the reports, they are damning. I feel saddened, I feel angry, I feel a lit bit confused because, on the other side, you have City’s side of the story."
What City’s punishment will be remains to be seen, but the implications are likely to spread far and wide.
"There are no winners in this," added Richards. "If Man City do the appeal and they get off, it’s still going to be tarnished. And, if they’re found guilty after the appeal, what happens then?
"And it’s not just Man City fans or Man City players, it’s the whole of the Premier League comes into question. This could be something that goes on for years and years and years."
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher feels sorry both for City’s players and the players of other clubs who missed out on winning trophies, adding that his former club Liverpool were "probably the biggest losers" as a result of Man City's activities.
"I feel for the players… they’ll almost feel like a lot of their career is going to have an asterisk, or a lot of people will be calling it a sham," Carragher said on Sky Sports News.
"The players were told everything was fine, they would never get done for anything. What the hierarchy are coming out with now, they’re just gaslighting.
"I think the titles should be taken off their (City’s) list. Whether other clubs get them is probably slightly different. City have not just hurt their own players.
"I don’t look at it (a medal) years later, but my mind goes back to moments and feelings in my stomach. Those players will never get that feeling and it was robbed by Man City. No one remembers the medal. Giving trophies or medals back, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s not about medals, it’s about feelings."
City’s next match comes in the Premier League on 11 October against Liverpool, the club that have been their biggest rival across the last decade.
"Liverpool are probably the biggest losers in all this," Carragher added. "The atmosphere will be electric. In the last five years, Liverpool v Manchester City has been ‘the’ game of the Premier League."
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