Former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola voiced support Wednesday for the club after an independent commission found it was guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules.
Guardiola said he remained behind City and its owner, chairman, chief executive Ferran Soriano, players, staff, new manager Enzo Maresca and supporters.
“Let me be clear: we will get through this together,” Guardiola wrote on US-based social media platform X, adding that he loved the club’s fans.
It came one day after the Premier League announced the findings of an independent commission examining 115 charges against City from 2009 to 2018.
The commission found the club guilty of financial-rule breaches involving, among other matters, the reporting of its finances and commercial arrangements. The Premier League has said the case concerned alleged schemes that artificially inflated the club’s revenue and reduced its reported costs.
Manchester City has rejected the findings and said it will appeal. The club has until Friday to appeal, meaning no final sporting punishment has been imposed.
Guardiola left City at the end of last season after 10 years in charge, during which he led the club to six Premier League titles and its first Champions League trophy. Maresca, a former Guardiola assistant, succeeded him as manager.
The case dates back to a period that includes Guardiola’s first two seasons at the club. The charges were brought by the Premier League in 2023, after a lengthy investigation into City’s finances and its cooperation with the league.
Soriano, City’s chief executive, has also rejected the commission’s findings, maintaining that the club has evidence supporting its position.