Guardiola repeatedly backs Manchester City amid 115-charge case

Pep Guardiola has repeatedly defended Manchester City during the Premier League’s long-running investigation into 115 alleged financial-rule breaches, while saying he would accept the outcome of the legal process. The Premier League charged City in February 2023 after a lengthy investigation. Guardiola has maintained that he trusted the explanations given by chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and chief executive Ferran Soriano, and that the club had acted properly.

In 2019, after City completed a domestic treble, Guardiola rejected suggestions that he had received money outside official channels. He said the club should not be considered guilty before the allegations were proven and said he believed its leaders when they told him City followed the rules. He adopted a similar position after UEFA imposed a two-season Champions League ban and a €30 million fine on City in February 2020.

Guardiola said the club considered the punishment unfair and would appeal, adding that he trusted what City had said and done. The Court of Arbitration for Sport later overturned the ban. Guardiola subsequently said the allegations had damaged City because people had described the club as having cheated.

In 2022, he said his public defence reflected his genuine belief in the club and warned that he would leave if its leaders had lied to him. When the Premier League announced its charges in 2023, Guardiola said City had already been condemned and referred to the principle that people are innocent until proven guilty. However, he also said the club would accept the decision if it were found to have breached the rules.

He repeatedly called for the proceedings to finish quickly. In 2024, he welcomed the start of the hearing and said an independent panel would decide the case. In May 2026, after announcing his decision to step down as manager, Guardiola again said he trusted City’s leadership and the way it had handled the matter.