“I am here, more than ever”: Guardiola backs Manchester City after guilty verdicts

Pep Guardiola spoke on Wednesday 30 September, for the first time since the verdicts against Manchester City. In a long post on X, he wrote: “I want every single @ManCity fan to know I am here; more than ever. I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran, the players, staff, Enzo and you, our unique supporters.” The post ends with words he has rarely used: “Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all.”

Guardiola no longer manages City. He left in the summer of 2026 after ten years, twenty major trophies including the 2023 Champions League and six Premier League titles, and the bench is now Enzo Maresca’s. He remains a global ambassador for City Football Group. By writing “my owner, my chairman” and then naming Ferran Soriano, he sided with the leadership, Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Soriano, under fire since the verdicts.

Guilty on breaches from 2009 to 2018

Manchester City were found guilty of breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules between 2009 and 2018, at the end of a case opened in February 2023. Reports differ on the count: 114 of the 115 charges according to franceinfo, all of them according to The Guardian. No sanction has been announced, and the club maintains its innocence. In a letter to supporters, Khaldoon Al Mubarak wrote that the process opened by the Premier League was far from finished and that the club’s determination to prove its innocence remained as strong as at the start. City have until Friday 2 October to appeal.

A former chairman calls for the board to go

The hearing that will set the sanction is due “in the coming weeks”, according to The Times, quoted by franceinfo. A fine, a transfer ban, a points deduction, relegation and even the stripping of titles have all been mentioned. David Bernstein, who chaired City from 1998 to 2003, goes further: “I don’t think the present management can credibly continue,” he told The Guardian.

On the pitch, the case has changed nothing yet: City lead the Premier League going into the international break and travel to Liverpool on 11 October when it resumes. A points deduction would weigh on the title race more than any October result, but no date has been set for that decision.