Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has warned rival clubs to ‘be careful’ after the club were hit with over 100 charges by the Premier League in relation to alleged breaches.
City were accused of breaking financial rules by the Premier League, who have issued them with 115 charges that span across a 14-year period.
The club were banned from UEFA competitions in 2020 and fined £25m for breaking Financial Fair Play rules but an appeal saw the ban removed and the fine reduced to £10m.
The Premier League’s allegations are far more extensive and could see City kicked out of the division in a worst-case scenario.
🗣 "Do you think other clubs don't like Man City?"
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 10, 2023
Pep 🗣 "They open a precedent right now, what they have done to us, be careful. There are a lot of clubs that can be accused."
Pep Guardiola believes that other Premier League clubs have driven these accusations against City pic.twitter.com/qzAYCE2vJs
But, speaking in a prickly press conference this afternoon, a defiant Guardiola insisted City are innocent and he doubled-down on his belief that the charges are motivated by influence from the other 19 Premier League clubs in the division.
‘They [the other 19 Premier League clubs] have set a precedent,’ said Guardiola.
‘Be careful, be careful in the future as there’s a lot of clubs that have been accused like we have without being innocent, who knows what will happen in the future?
Asked whether the charges were being motivated by moves from other clubs, Guardiola replied: ‘You should go to the chairmans, the CEO’s, Daniel Levy, and ask them.’