Manchester City defender Ruben Dias
Ruben Dias has vowed Manchester City’s players will “defend” and “fight for” the club amid the continued pressure surrounding them.
The City captain says the players remain fully behind those in charge despite the club being found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules, a verdict Manchester City have appealed.
“We will defend the club, we will fight for it and we trust the club,” Dias said ahead of his side’s game against Paris Saint-Germain.
“When you build yourself as a player, you build yourself against any kind of noise.
“Personally, and I really feel like I speak for the whole group, we’re very calm. We trust the club, we’re very calm, and we’re very focused on enjoying football.
“We know the team we’ve got, we want to make the most out of it and that’s the only thing in our minds.
“Whatever the noise is, at the end of the day it’s all the same. The same as before, because people don’t love us winning and we love to win.”
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Dias admitted it has been difficult for the squad to completely avoid the coverage surrounding City, however.
“Yes there’s a lot of noise and it’s almost impossible to avoid seeing something, even us being as private as we can be and just doing our own lives,” he said.
“But I feel like we’re also very good at focusing ourselves in our work, in our job, doing it right, making the most of it, being happy every time we come to work and our minds are very much there and only there.
“We have full confidence in the club, we trust the club, and we love to win.”
Dias also revealed the players spoke to each other after the news of the verdict emerged during the international break.
“When it broke, it felt like we should have a conversation as soon as we got back,” he said.
“We did, just for everyone to be on the same page, and to be clear about our peace of mind, and we moved on from that.
“It happened in a moment where we were not together but quickly we reached out to each other and we found calm and we progress forward.”
And the defender insisted City will continue to enjoy victories regardless of the wider circumstances, following their 3-0 win over Liverpool on Sunday.
“It’s a win at Anfield,” he said.
“In whatever circumstance, so be it, any time, I and we will enjoy it just as much and we will celebrate however it feels in the moment.
“It will be a show of how much it means to us.”
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