Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger at Wembley Stadium in 2009
Legendary Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger made some very interesting comments about Manchester City in 2011, which have been made far more relevant now following the Premier League's verdict on football's 'trial of the century'.
The Cityzens have been found guilty of all 115 charges related to financial breaches this week, bringing to an end a decade-long struggle to determine the legitimacy of the Etihad outfit's period of unprecedented success.
Your browser does not support the video tag.
Among the independent panel's findings were that City arranged "sham contracts" with a number of commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise more than £830m in secret funding.
Whether they will be stripped of their titles between a nine-year period stretching from 2009 and 2018 remains to be seen, but their reputation is in tatters regardless. What's more, the irreparable damage has been done to their rivals.
What Arsene Wenger Said About Man City in 2011
Arsene Wenger of FIFA looks on
But maybe, just maybe, much of this historic sportswashing could have been avoided had UEFA listened to Wenger 15 years ago. Back then, the Frenchman - now serving FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development since 2019 - accused Man City of attempting to bend UEFA's financial fair-play rules after they agreed a £400m sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways.
He believed that Michel Platini, UEFA's president at the time, was duty-bound to investigate the deal and ramped up pressure on his fellow countryman to follow through. "It raises the real question about the credibility of the financial fair play," Wenger said via The Guardian in July 2011.
"That is what this is all about. They give us the message that they can get around it by doing what they want. It means financial fair play will not come in. It is as simple as that.
"I can understand how they do it, but it raises the real question. The difficulty and the credibility of financial fair play are at stake. Plus, if the financial fair play is to have a chance, the sponsorship has to be at the market price. It cannot be doubled, tripled or quadrupled because that means it is better that we don't do it and we leave everybody free. That can be defended as well, but if they bring the rules in, they have to be respected."
Wenger's comments couldn't be more true 15 years later, as 54 of their 114 charges were related to providing accurate financial information, which specifically covered the accusations of artificially inflating sponsorship and commercial revenues.
At the time, Man City responded, describing Wenger's comments as "unfounded and regrettable". In a statement, the club said: "The financial details of the comprehensive agreement announced last week between Manchester City and Etihad Airways remain confidential and figures being speculated about are not accurate."
Wenger's Thoughts on City's Guilty Verdict & Their Damaged Legacy
REUTERS/Phil Noble
City continue to pledge their innocence in the case after releasing a lengthy statement on social media, but in Wenger's opinion, the club's legacy is "worthless" now after seeing his initial worries gain even more relevance. He said:
"Man City may be lucky. They may just get a fine and a transfer ban," the 76-year-old said after they were found guilty. But I trust England - a country that respects tradition and history so much - may never accept Manchester City in the same way again.
"Nothing they achieve from now on will ever be celebrated in the same way. Their entire club’s legacy is worthless now. At every match, they’ll be called ‘cheats.’ Nobody will respect them, and their players will know that anything they achieve will never carry the same meaning."
REUTERS/ Molly Darlington
He added: "That is the real punishment. Not just what happens to Manchester City in the courts or on the pitch, but what happens to the way people remember everything they achieved."
Man City have until Friday (October 2) to appeal against this verdict, and it should take no longer than 12 weeks to conclude after it is filed. Then, their punishment will become clearer, which could include a huge fine, a transfer ban, points deduction, relegation or, worst case scenario, a complete expulsion from English football.