Former Manchester City Spanish manager Pep Guardiola expressed his strong support for the club after the English Premier League football association found it guilty of serious breaches of its financial rules over nine seasons, affirming that "I will always stand behind my club."
Guardiola, who won six league titles with City and led them to the Champions League title for the first time in their history, said on X: "I want the fans to know that I am here; more than ever. I, as I have always been and as I will always remain, stand behind my club, my owners (club owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan), my chairman, Ferran (Soriano, the club's chief executive), the players, the staff, Enzo (Maresca, the current manager), and you, our unique fans."
The Spaniard, who spent ten years at the Etihad Stadium before leaving last May, added: "Let me be clear: we will get through this ordeal together. I love you all."
The Premier League found that City entered into sham contracts with a number of commercial partners in order to artificially inflate the club's revenues, which led to concealing its true financial position and avoiding the spending limits imposed by both the domestic league and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).
An independent commission also found City guilty of all 115 charges against it except one.
City confirmed its intention to appeal after having previously strongly denied the charges.
The club now faces the possibility of being punished with a points deduction, a heavy fine, or even expulsion from the Premier League.
