Guardiola backing Man City after guilty verdicts

Former manager Pep Guardiola has backed Manchester City's owners and leadership and says he will "always" be behind the club after they were found guilty of all charges related to breaches of the Premier League's financial rules. An independent commission found that City arranged "sham contracts" with a number of commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise secret funding of more than £830m. The league confirmed City have been found guilty of all charges related to breaches of financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, and all but one in relation to failure to co-operate with the investigation. The club continue to deny any wrongdoing and have until 2 October to submit an appeal. Guardiola took over as City manager in July 2016 before leaving last summer. "I want every single Manchester City fan across the world to know I am here; more than ever," he wrote in a social media post. "I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran [Soriano], the players, staff, [manager] Enzo [Maresca] and you, our unique supporters. "Let me be clear: we will get through this together. "I love you all." During Guardiola's decade in charge of City, he led the club to six Premier League titles - including a record four in a row from 2020-21 - as well as the Champions League, three FA Cups and five League Cups. Prior to his departure, Guardiola spoke about the charges against City in November 2024 and said he "will be here" even if the club were relegated. City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said in a statement on Saturday that the club is still confident of proving its innocence, while on Tuesday chief executive Ferran Soriano said in a video message, external to staff and players that "irrefutable evidence" had been "ignored" by the commission. The club, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group, said they were "both disappointed and surprised" by the guilty verdict.