Guardiola Stands By City After 'Guilty' Verdict

The independent commission didn't mince words. Manchester City, they declared, cooked the books. We're talking "sham" commercial contracts, running from 2009/10 right through to 2017/18. Eight years of artificially inflating revenues by a cool £830m. Their words, not mine: a "disguised funding scheme." Make of that what you will.

And what does the man at the helm, Pep Guardiola — bless his contract until 2026 — have to say about this mess? Straight to social media. "I want every single Manchester City fan across the world to know I am here; more than ever. We will get through this together. I love you all." Pure defiance. Or perhaps, pure spin.

Naturally, City deny everything. They're appealing the verdict. Deadline for that appeal is Friday 2 October, according to Sky Sports. Chief exec Ferran Soriano even pitched it to the squad as a "Premier League conspiracy theory." You can almost hear the eye rolls from the opposition benches.

Their formal statement? A masterpiece of denial. "Innocent of the accusations," they declared. Apparently, "irrefutable evidence exists" that backs up every single one of their positions. The club claims the opinion contains "clear material errors of law, principle and fact" and is "unsafe." Convenient, that.

The commission, for its part, managed a polite sigh. Eight years it took to get here, they noted, "regrettable" as that may be. Hearings stretched from September to December 2024. Now, the fun part: sanctions. Maybe. City faces potential penalties once the appeal circus finally packs up. Until then, City assures us, they're "restricted in what it can publicly disclose." Of course they are.