Jamie Carragher reveals what Man City players told him about 115 charges verdict as ‘furious’ Kevin De Bruyne claim made

Jamie Carragher has claimed Manchester City’s titles should be removed while also making an interesting claim about what the club’s players told him about the 115-charge verdict.

On Friday (September 25), it was first reported that an independent commission had found Man City guilty of all but one of the 115 charges set against them by the Premier League.

The league then confirmed the verdict via a lengthy statement on Monday (September 29), claiming City had breached financial rules between 2008/09 and 2017/18 by arranging “sham contracts” and relying on “sham agreements to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs”.

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Jamie Carragher urges Premier League to strip Man City of titles

What sanction the club may face remains unclear, although a huge points deduction, a fine, the stripping of titles and expulsion from the league altogether remain possibilities.

And former Liverpool captain-turned-pundit Carragher believes the Premier League should throw the book at City, suggesting they should see their titles stripped and their owners removed.

"I do think Manchester City's titles they've won in this time, or trophies, should be taken off their list," Carragher told Sky Sports on Wednesday morning (September 30).

He added: “In terms of what we're finding out now, I don't know how the owners can continue in English football.

"We talk about a fit and proper test for owners. What they've done for 10 years - and left this stain that will be there for the next 10 years - it starts because they don't like the word no.

“When you see the statements - the one from [CEO Ferran] Soriano last night - it's beggars belief what you're hearing.

"They have so much power and finance behind them, nobody ever tells them no. Until they move away from the club, I don't know how this stain is removed from the club.

"City will move on - they will have great teams in the future. But I don't see how the ownership can continue after what's happened here and their reaction to it. How can they be surprised? They've got irrefutable evidence - well where is it? Put it out there."

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Jamie Carragher reveals conversation with Man City stars

The Liverpudlian then turned his attention to how City’s players, past and present, must be feeling, saying he’d be “furious” at what has unfolded.

"As a team, what they've done is wrong," he continued. "The Premier League have called it a sham five times in their statement.

"But in terms of individual players, some of them are coming out to bat for the club, that's normal right now. It must be very difficult for them to see anything that's going on and to almost feel like a lot of their career is going to have an asterisk with it, or people are just going to call it a sham.

"I think of Kevin De Bruyne, who's one of the greatest players I've ever seen. He could have played for any team in the world and he still would have been one of the best players. He was fantastic.

"But he chose his club to be Manchester City. Now, one of those reasons he may have chosen, maybe was his wages, that maybe were inflated because of the situation around Man City and what they've been charged with.

“But if he sits there at the end of his career now and the whole world looks at his Manchester City career of 10 years of service and look at it as a sham, and I keep using that word, that's the word the Premier League used, I'd be furious. Absolutely furious that around the world people are looking at my career like that because of what's going on upstairs.”

The 48-year-old then revealed that he’s had conversations with City players who previously reassured him that “everything was fine” after being told that by the club.

He continued: “Those people have continually told those players - because I have spoken to certain players about it - that everything was fine. They were not going to get done for anything.

"We keep talking about Liverpool or Manchester United, all these players who maybe could get Premier League titles now. And that's absolutely spot on,

"But I've actually been thinking about the Manchester City players and how they feel. What Manchester City's hierarchy are coming out with in the last couple of days as well, they're just gaslighting the players, their ex-players, their supporters, because those people want to believe them so much. They've got such strong relationships with them, they want to believe it right now.

"I think the longer this goes on, the more you'll see less support from maybe ex-City players and more frustration about maybe how their careers are going to be viewed by the outside world."

According to the Premier League, City were found to have arranged disguised funding schemes worth more than £830million with commercial partners.

“The relevant sponsorship agreements were found to be shams, or at minimum did not reflect their economic substance,” the commission said.

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Man City release statement maintaining innocence after 115-charge guilty verdict

City deny any wrongdoing and say they have a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists” to support their position.

In a statement posted on Monday, the club said: “Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission, that has been published today.

“The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. The Club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.

“The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements uncompleted.

“The Club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.

“The Club is obviously restricted in what it can say further until all future proceedings are complete.”

The club have until October 2 to appeal the verdict.

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