Enzo Maresca defends Manchester City after Premier League guilty verdict
Manager Enzo Maresca defended Manchester City in Manchester on Friday following a Premier League financial rules verdict. The ruling found the club guilty of breaking financial rules in a historic league scandal.
An independent panel published findings against the club last week. The verdict stated the team artificially inflated revenue by over $1 billion to sign top stars.
The panel found the United Arab Emirates-backed club committed almost all of the 115-plus accused violations. City has always denied the charges. The club lodged an appeal.
Maresca spoke at a news conference ahead of Sunday’s match against Liverpool at Anfield. He dismissed suggestions that the verdict tainted the team’s dominance in English soccer.
“I completely trust the club in this moment, in the future, always,” Maresca said. “The reason why I joined this club is because I completely trust 100% the owner, the CEO, the sports director, all the organization, so I don’t have any doubt about that.”
Maresca took over as manager at the end of last season. Former manager Pep Guardiola stepped down after a 10-year tenure. Maresca previously worked as Guardiola’s assistant during the 2023 treble-winning season.
He said he would still have taken the manager job today. He said, “100%.”
He said he wants to discuss the situation after the appeal.
“I would like to speak about this situation when we’re going to win the appeal,” Maresca said.
The manager must now prepare the team for the upcoming match. He said players understand the serious situation.
“For me and for the players, we can control just the pitch side, the field side,” Maresca said. “So we are focused on that, and this is what we can do and we can control.”
The Premier League oversees financial compliance for member clubs in top-flight English soccer. Independent panels review evidence and issue formal judgments on alleged rule breaches. Clubs can appeal panel decisions through established sports arbitration processes.
Manchester City will travel from Manchester to Anfield for the league match on Sunday.
