Pep Guardiola has already warned his leaders that he will leave Manchester City immediately if sanctions are imposed for breaches of financial fair play.
Fine, withdrawal of points, prohibition of recruitment, exclusion from the championship: these are the sanctions to which one is exposed Manchester City, suspected by the Premier League of having committed more than a hundred breaches of the Financial Fair Play regulations between 2009 and 2018. If the English club said to itself “surprised by the publication of these alleged violations”he would not be taken aback if Pep Guardiola decided, overnight, to slam the door.
The Catalan coach has indeed already warned his leaders, but also journalists, in complete transparency, that he would not hesitate to leave the Sky Blues immediately if such sanctions were to be imposed. “When they are accused of something, I ask them to tell me about it, to explain it to me and I believe them. But I told them, ‘If you lie to me, the next day I won’t be here. I’ll leave and we won’t be friends anymore.”he had thus launched last May.
« If you lie to me…”
The Spanish manager then answered, at a press conference, a question about this type of case, which has already almost cost Manchester City dearly in the past. In 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had thus cleared the Cityzens while UEFA had previously banned them from recruitment for two years, again for significant breaches of the financial rules in force. At the time, nine Premier League clubs also claimed the MCFC lead.
“When the CAS cleared us, it meant a lot to all of us because, in the end, it removed all suspicion, added Pep Guardiola. But I can’t forget that nine Premier League teams wanted to kick Manchester City out of the league and European competitions. These nine teams pressed, and I know who they are. » Three years later, some are ready to step up again to recover the titles they feel they have been deprived of.
