Manchester City manager says financial rules verdict does not tarnish club’s trophies

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca insisted Friday that the club’s titles have “absolutely not” been tainted after an independent commission found it guilty of breaching Premier League financial regulations.

Speaking ahead of City’s visit to Liverpool on Sunday, Maresca said he knew “exactly the effort that the club put in” to win its trophies and maintained his confidence in the club’s owners and senior management.

“The reason I joined this club is that I completely trust, 100%, the owner, the CEO, the sporting director, all the organization. So I don’t have doubt about that,” he told a news conference.

The commission found City guilty of breaches covering the 2009-10 to 2017-18 seasons, including the use of “sham” commercial contracts and misleading accounts in an alleged scheme to disguise more than £830 million ($1.1 billion) in funding.

City have denied wrongdoing and lodged an appeal, arguing that the ruling contained “clear material errors of law, principle and fact” and was unsafe.

Maresca said he had discussed the verdict with the club but suggested further comment should wait until the appeal process had concluded.

“We all trust, and probably the right moment to speak about that is when we are going to win this appeal,” he said.

The Italian added that his players would concentrate on matters they could influence.

“For me, the players, we can control just the pitch side, the football side. So we are focused on that. This is what we can do and what we can control.”

Maresca, appointed as Pep Guardiola’s successor in June, previously worked with City’s academy and served as Guardiola’s assistant during the club’s Treble-winning 2022-23 season.

City have won their opening five Premier League matches under the 46-year-old. Victory at Anfield would make Maresca only the fourth manager to win his first six matches in charge of a club in the competition.

He acknowledged that the financial ruling could result in an even more hostile atmosphere than usual on Sunday.

“It probably will be worse because of the situation but, again, it will be our duty to do our best and try to win the game,” he said. “The reason I decided to become a manager is for this type of game.”

Maresca also confirmed that striker Erling Haaland was ready to face Liverpool following the international break.