Guardiola Backs Manchester City After Guilty Verdict

Pep Guardiola has posted a message of support for Manchester City after an independent commission found the club guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought over breaches of Premier League financial rules, and of most of the counts relating to non-cooperation with the investigation. The charges cover the period from the 2009-10 season to 2017-18.

"I want every Manchester City fan around the world to know that I am with you — more than ever. I have always been and always will be on the side of my club, the owner, the chairman, Ferran [Soriano], the players, the staff and you, our unique supporters. I want to say this clearly: we will get through this together. I love you all," Guardiola wrote.

City's board has disputed the verdict and said it intends to appeal. Guardiola managed the club from 2016 to 2024, winning 20 trophies with the side.

Match TV and Winline Media League commentator Stanislav Minin gave the message a sharper reading. "In reality, you are not 'here', and you are not 'together'. If, God forbid, they get relegated, it will not be you dragging the team back up through games with Preston and Swindon Town. But well done for not turning your back, for not saying: 'It's all on them, they set me up, they dragged my good name through the mud.' You didn't wash your hands of it," Minin wrote.

Former City director Garry Cook, by contrast, argued the club has done nothing wrong. "Information will soon come out that will show things are not as they seem. One-sided language is being used at the moment — events need to be described more carefully," Cook said.

City still face the possibility of a points deduction or relegation once the case reaches a full sanction, though no penalty has yet been set. Guardiola's statement, whatever its reception, signals that he intends to stay associated with the club's response to the verdict rather than distance himself from it.