Manchester City hero Shaun Wright-Phillips has admitted the controversy engulfing his former club leaves him ‘hurt’ and ‘gutted’, but insists the club will forever have a place in his heart.
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The fallout since Manchester City’s guilty verdict issued by the Premier League has so often been a story of lawyers, executives, and newspaper editors that it can be easy to forget the people for whom this club is home.
Long-running fan favourite Shaun Wright-Phillips is one of those people among the list of former players, and he has not shyed away from being honest about how much the past few weeks have stung.
The former City winger, a hero across his two spells at the Etihad Stadium, has given his reaction to the financial scandal that has left supporters reeling - and his response was as heartfelt and measured as fans have come to expect from the man.
Manchester City legend Shaun Wright-Phillips has recalled the impacts of positional depth during his career as Enzo Maresca juggles a breadth of attacking options.cityxtra.co.ukManchester City legend Shaun Wright-Phillips has recalled the impacts of positional depth during his career as Enzo Maresca juggles a breadth of attacking options.
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Shaun Wright-Phillips: “It’s my club”
In a new and exclusive interview with GB News, Shaun Wright-Phillips has admitted he had not yet looked over every detail of the Premier League case - but left no doubt about how the story had affected him.
“From what I’ve seen, because I haven’t really read into it too much, and I don’t know enough about it to comment on all the logistics behind it, [but] the one thing I will say is, it’s my club,” he said.
“It hurts that my club’s been tarnished or damaged in that way, and I’m gutted for the fans and the players.
“But if there’s some evidence there, it will come out. What will be will be. The club will always be my club, and in my heart.”
A measured kind of loyalty
There was no attempt to argue the case or defend the club, but simply offer the honest feelings of a man who gave Manchester City most of the best years of his career.
The 44-year-old - who turned out more than 270 times across two spells at the club, netting 47 goals and lifting the FA Cup - speaks as a City fan rather than just another former player.
Wright-Phillips also stopped short of claiming to know how the situation will all end, accepting that the truth, whatever it proves to be, will eventually come to the surface.
Many Manchester City fans will be able to relate to his sentiment that, whatever the damage to the club’s reputation, that emotional bond endures.
Love for a football club is not something any courtroom can touch, and it is exactly this sort of response that reminds us why Manchester City supporters were so quick to warm to Shaun Wright-Phillips almost three decades ago.
The Man City facts, as they stand
Shaun Wright-Phillips' words come after an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of serious financial wrongdoing across the course of nine seasons between 2009 and 2018.
The findings included almost £950 million in sponsorship booked from companies based in Abu Dhabi, around £830 million traced to the Abu Dhabi United Group, in “sham” arrangements the commission ruled had artificially inflated revenue.
Suggestions that Manchester City's owners could be compelled to sell the club as a consequence of the Premier League's independent commission verdict are unlikely to materialise in the near term, as per a new report.cityxtra.co.ukSuggestions that Manchester City's owners could be compelled to sell the club as a consequence of the Premier League's independent commission verdict are unlikely to materialise in the near term, as per a new report.
Will Man City's Abu Dhabi Owners Be Forced to Sell the Club as Guilty Verdict Appeal Process Begins?
Manchester City, who submitted their appeal days after the verdict, maintain their innocence and have branded the ruling “unsafe”, pointing to “clear material errors”. The case now goes before the league's Appeal Board, with punishment to be determined later.
City return to action at Liverpool's Anfield on Sunday afternoon - their first fixture since the verdict landed - and in troubling times the loyalty of old heroes tends to count for more than legal specifics.