The fallout from Manchester City's guilty verdict over breaches of the Premier League's financial rules continued to reverberate through English football on Friday, as several top-flight managers were asked for their reaction to a case that has cast a long shadow over the division.
An independent commission found City guilty of breaking financial regulations across a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018. The club has consistently denied wrongdoing and has lodged an appeal against the ruling. Should that appeal fail, City could face significant sporting sanctions.
For Manchester United manager Michael Carrick, the verdict carries a personal dimension. He was part of the United squad that saw the 2011-12 Premier League title slip away on the final day, when Sergio Agüero's dramatic late goal handed City the championship on goal difference while United's players watched on from Sunderland. Carrick also served on Ole Gunnar Solskjær's coaching staff when United finished a distant second to City, 22 points adrift, in 2021.
Carrick reflected on how the emotional weight of such moments cannot simply be restored after the fact. "The emotion, the feeling about winning, a lot of it is in the moment," he said. "Whether you're successful, whether you lose, whether it goes against you, that initial feeling, the beauty of sport and the beauty of football and the beauty of trying to win trophies here, is a little bit on the journey towards it and then the finale, and does it go for you, does it go against you." He added that once such moments pass, there is no reclaiming them, regardless of any retrospective correction. "It's affected me personally in different ways," Carrick admitted, though he stressed the ongoing nature of the case makes its ultimate resolution impossible to predict. "The sooner it gets sorted I think for everyone's benefit is essential," he said.
Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola echoed the sentiment that prolonged ambiguity serves no one well. "Uncertainty is not good for anyone involved but there is the process ongoing and we have to be patient like everyone else and see what happens at the end," he said, adding that he felt unqualified to offer a firm opinion given he had not studied the case in the depth the commission had. Iraola suggested that players, by contrast, remain largely insulated from the controversy by the demands of competition itself, focused instead on tactical duties and matchday preparation.
Former City captain Vincent Kompany, now managing Bayern Munich, defended the integrity of his own achievements at the club despite the verdict. Kompany, who won four Premier League titles during his decade-plus at the Etihad and is commemorated with a statue outside the stadium, said he remained proud of everything accomplished on the pitch during his playing days, while distancing himself from matters beyond his control as a current head coach focused on Bayern's upcoming fixtures.
Arsenal's Mikel Arteta, who spent over three years as Pep Guardiola's assistant at City before leaving to become Gunners manager in December 2019, declined to be drawn into detailed commentary given the case remains unresolved pending appeal. Arteta did insist, however, that he still regards the Premier League as the world's best division, while stressing the importance of respecting due process before passing judgment.
Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi, meanwhile, said his focus lies squarely on pulling Spurs away from the bottom of the table rather than dwelling on City's situation. Drawing on his own experience as a Napoli player during Juventus's match-fixing scandal and subsequent relegation in 2006-07, De Zerbi noted that such controversies rarely occupy a player's mind in the moment, and that decisions of this magnitude are ultimately matters for those with the authority and responsibility to adjudicate them.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football (Will Unwin, Press Association, Agence France-Presse, Ed Aarons, Sam Cunningham).