Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. An independent commission concluded that the club arranged “sham contracts” with a number of commercial partners as part of a scheme designed to disguise secret funding of more than £830m. The league also confirmed that City were found guilty of all but one of the charges relating to a failure to co-operate with the investigation.
City continue to deny any wrongdoing and have until 2 October to submit an appeal. The club’s chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, said in a statement on Saturday that City remain confident of proving their innocence. Chief executive Ferran Soriano subsequently told staff and players in a video message on Tuesday that “irrefutable evidence” had been “ignored” by the commission.
Micah Richards, a former City defender, said he felt “absolutely devastated” after reading the verdict. Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Richards described the reports as troubling, singling out the language used by the Premier League. “I saw the words which were used by the Premier League in ‘sham contracts’ and I felt absolutely devastated,” he said. “I was 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.”
The 38-year-old, who was part of City’s title-winning squad in 2011-12, also spoke about the personal impact on those closest to the club. While coming through the youth academy he lived in digs with a local family who are long-term supporters. “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 added. “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. If you listen to the reports, they are damning. I feel saddened, I feel angry, I feel a little bit confused because, on the other side, you have City’s side of the story.”
Jamie Carragher, the former Liverpool defender who retired in 2013, said his sympathy lay chiefly with City’s players. “I feel for the players… they’ll almost feel like a lot of their career is going to have an asterisk, or a lot of people will be calling it a sham,” he said. “The players were told everything was fine. What the [City] hierarchy are coming out with now, they’re just gaslighting. I think the titles should be taken off their list. Whether other clubs get them is probably slightly different. City have not just hurt their own players.”
City won their second Premier League title in 2013-14, overtaking Liverpool during the run-in to finish two points above the Reds. That season was the closest Carragher’s long-time team-mate Steven Gerrard came to winning the Premier League. “Those players will never get that feeling and it was robbed by Man City,” Carragher added. “No-one remembers the medal. Giving trophies or medals back, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s not about medals, it’s about feelings.” City won the Premier League three times during the nine-year period covered by the charges, with Richards part of their 2011-12 title-winning squad.