“An era of deception”
Revelations about financial breaches committed by Manchester City between 2009 and 2018, which the club still disputes, have stirred anger among former rivals. Mauricio Pochettino, now USA head coach after seven years on Premier League touchlines with Tottenham, Chelsea and Southampton, compared City’s dominance on Tuesday to “an era of deception.” “Whatever the sanction, there’s no turning back the clock. It’s caused a lot of damage. A lot of clubs followed the rules, others didn’t. It’s a huge sadness. We’re left in a situation where what was celebrated wasn’t really real,” he said.
Manchester City were found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges brought against them for that period, according to revelations from The Athletic on Friday. The club, which came under Emirati ownership in 2008, is accused of inflating its finances through sponsors linked to the owner and paying undisclosed salary top-ups. The Premier League opened its investigation in February 2023.
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“Send me the medal”
Irony has taken over among former direct rivals. Rio Ferdinand, runner-up to City with Manchester United in 2011/12, joked about “another Premier League medal to add to the cabinet.” Wayne Rooney, part of that same United side, said he wouldn’t feel comfortable accepting a retroactive title: “I don’t think we deserved it. We didn’t do enough that season to win the league,” he said on the “Stick to United” podcast.
David De Gea, who joined United in 2011 and finished runner-up to City twice (2012 and 2018), joked on X: “How many Premier League titles have I won then?” Jose Enrique, a former Liverpool defender who finished two points behind City in 2014, posted on the same platform: “Thanks Premier League, send me the medal.”
Sanctions still uncertain
Tony Pulis, whose Stoke side lost the 2011 FA Cup final to City, was more measured on any potential redistribution of titles. “I don’t really think trophies and titles will be handed back. A points deduction and a heavy fine seem far more likely to me. But I still feel cheated,” he told the BBC.
The range of possible sanctions runs from financial penalties to outright expulsion from the league, including transfer bans and points deductions. La Liga president Javier Tebas used the case to call for defending “economic control, transparency and equal rules for everyone,” principles he called “essential to protect the integrity and sustainability of football.”
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