Pep Guardiola breaks silence after Man City guilty verdict: 'I am behind my club'

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Matthew Judge | Editor

Pep Guardiola says he is “behind my club” after Manchester City were found guilty of all charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules.

In his first statement since the charges were confirmed by the Premier League on Tuesday, the Catalan told Man City fans “we will get through this together”.

Guardiola, who stepped down after a decade in charge of City in May, wrote on X: “I want every single Man City 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.

“Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all.”

Premier League say Man City arranged 'sham contracts'

An independent commission found that City had arranged “sham contracts” with commercial partners to disguise funding of more than €970million (£830m).

The Premier League confirmed City have been found guilty of all charges related to breaches of financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

During that nine-year period, City won the Premier League title three times including in 2017-18, when Guardiola was their manager.

The 55-year-old was named City boss in February 2016 and officially started work ahead of the 2016-17 Premier League season.

Guardiola and City went on to dominate English football for the next 10 years, winning 20 trophies including six Premier League titles.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich head coach also led City to their maiden Champions League crown as part of the treble-winning 2022-23 season.

However, the Premier League have said City's sanction for breaching financial rules “will be addressed separately in a further hearing with the independent commission”.

In addition to breaching financial rules, City have also been found guilty of all but one charge in relation to failure to co-operate with the investigation.

The 10-time league champions have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and have until Friday (2 October) to submit an appeal.

David Ornstein, The Athletic’s Football Correspondent, broke the news last Friday (25 September) that City had been found guilty of breaching financial rules.