Guardiola's mixed record on Man City charges: defiance, trust and promises
A review of Pep Guardiola's years of comments on Manchester City's financial rule-breaking case, from fierce denials to promises of a final press conference.
Pep Guardiola has responded to Manchester City being found guilty of deliberate financial rule-breaking over nine years with a message of solidarity, saying they will get through it together. The comments came after he left the club in the summer, though he remains a global ambassador for owners City Football Group and is expected at City's Champions League match against Paris St-Germain next week, their first home game since the verdicts.
Guardiola's public stance shifted over time. In 2019, after the FA Cup final, he reacted furiously when asked whether he had received undeclared payments, saying he trusted his chairman and chief executive and believed they followed the rules. In 2020 he was bullish after Uefa banned City from European competition, vowing to fight, and later said the club had been damaged because the presumption of innocence was absent when the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned that suspension.
When the Premier League announced its 115 charges in 2023, he said City were already being condemned and that he was fully convinced they would be innocent, while noting that if they were not, they would accept the judge's decision. He repeatedly complained about the length of the process, said it was more likely he would stay if the club were in League One than in the Champions League, and promised to hold a press conference once a verdict arrived.
In 2024 he said everyone is innocent until guilt is proven and that critics wanted City to disappear, and in February 2025 he expected a verdict within a month. The independent commission later expressed frustration at how long the case had taken. On leaving City in 2026, he said he trusted the hierarchy and that what happened, happened, repeating that he would speak once the verdict was given if journalists could find him.
Supporters have reacted to Guardiola's intervention with a mix of comfort and defiance, echoing the solidarity he expressed, while the club is appealing against the guilty verdicts. Distinguishing that fan sentiment from the established facts: City were found guilty, are challenging the outcome, and Guardiola no longer manages the team.
