England’s 3-2 defeat by Spain at Wembley was decided by uncharacteristic mistakes, two of them made by Manchester City players on the day after the club were found guilty of breaking Premier League financial rules.
Sources told BBC Sport on Friday that City had been found guilty of breaching the majority of the 115 financial rules they were accused of, following a four-year investigation. The club were accused of a wide range of rule breaches centring on claims they inflated sponsorship revenue and made other “off the books” payments to circumvent financial rules between 2009 and 2018. Sanctions are yet to be announced, but repercussions could include a points deduction, expulsion from the Premier League or a huge fine. BBC Sport understands Premier League clubs are seeking legal advice about potential compensation.
Three City players — Elliot Anderson, Marc Guehi and Nico O’Reilly — started for England, while Rodri, who spent seven years at the club before moving to Barcelona in the summer, was in Spain’s XI. Three of those four players made significant errors at Wembley.
Guehi was tackled by Lamine Yamal on the edge of his own box, allowing the Spain winger to drive towards goal and slot in his side’s opener. In the second half, Rodri’s late challenge on Jude Bellingham led to an England penalty, which Harry Kane struck against the crossbar after slipping. O’Reilly then had a pass intercepted deep in his own half, leading to Alex Baena’s equaliser at 2-2.
Asked whether the news had been a distraction after his side’s loss, England boss Thomas Tuchel said: “Not for me but I can imagine for the Manchester City players. For the players who have more time than me, for sure I can imagine they talk about it.”
Pundit Roy Keane, speaking to ITV Sport, went further: “In top level football you want to be focused and they certainly would have been affected. To see so many top-class players make so many mistakes – it has certainly affected them.”
England captain Kane played down any link between the charges and the errors. “There was a discussion, but at the end of the day when we’re with England we kind of put club football to one side and it was no different this week,” he told ITV Sport.
City, meanwhile, have publicly maintained their innocence. A few hours before kick-off at Wembley, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak told supporters he was still confident of proving the club’s innocence and that the “Premier League process still has a long way to run”. Rodri had also stressed his belief in the club in a news conference on Friday. “They always express the confidence that they never did something wrong and we believe in that,” he said. “Until the moment they are proved wrong, we will believe the club.”
The charges cover the managerial tenures of Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, and the first two years under Pep Guardiola, who left the club after 10 seasons at the end of the 2025-26 campaign. City won the Premier League and EFL Cup three times and the FA Cup once between 2009 and 2018. Guehi, Rodri and O’Reilly all made their City debuts after the period in question.