Roy Keane has said he would throw his “medals in the bin” if he had played for Manchester City during the period under investigation, after the Premier League confirmed on Tuesday that the club were guilty of all charges related to their financial rules.
The league found that City boosted their income by more than £900m after arranging “sham contracts” with commercial partners, part of what amounted to an almost £1bn scheme to either inflate revenues or reduce costs in order to avoid breaching league and Uefa financial regulations. City continue to deny any wrongdoing.
City won eight trophies, including three Premier League titles, between 2009 and 2018, the period under investigation. Speaking as an ITV pundit during coverage of England’s Nations League match against the Czech Republic, Keane argued that those achievements had been rendered redundant by the “cheating” that took place at the time. “If I was a player, I’d be 100% sticking those medals in the bin. Of course you would, it’s cheating,” the former Manchester United captain said. “They won it on the pitch because cheating was going on.” Of the club itself, he added: “They knew it would hurt a lot of people, but they’ve still done it.”
Keane’s stance was in sharp contrast to the reaction of Micah Richards, the former City defender, who said the verdict had left him devastated and heartbroken. “The reports were troubling. I saw the words which were used by the Premier League in sham contracts and I felt absolutely devastated,” Richards said on The Rest is Football podcast.
Richards, who joined City as a 14-year-old, described his personal attachment to the club and the difficulty of processing the findings. “I’ve been at that club since I was 14 years old, I would die for that club. I achieved my dream at Manchester City, but then to hear these reports, and not only me as an ex-player, but the fans, what they have to go through, absolutely devastating.”
He also recounted a call from the supporter he had lodged with as a young player at the club. “My digs man, he rang me and he was literally in tears and asking me about information, which I don’t know, I haven’t got the answers to tell him,” Richards said. “And that’s someone who’s supported the club for 60-odd years, and the uncertainty around it is just heartbreaking. To have a headline of this nature for a club that I love so much, it’s been difficult.”
Richards admitted to mixed emotions as he tried to reconcile the severity of the reports with the club’s own position. “If you listen to the reports, they are damning. I feel saddened, I feel angry, I feel a lit bit confused because, on the other side, you have City’s side of the story.”