Jamie Carragher forced to explain 'I'd rather cheat and win' comments after Simon Jordan calls him out

Jamie Carragher has clarified comments he made four years ago, stating he'd "rather cheat and win than not win" after Simon Jordan called him out live on talkSPORT.

Carragher has been vocal about Manchester City ever since they were found guilty by the independent commission for all serious breaches relating to the Premier League and UEFA's financial rules.

The former Liverpool defender demanded that City's owners be forced out and all titles stripped during the nine years between 2009 and 2018 when the club disguised more than £830million in funding through “sham” sponsorship arrangements, while mapping out a punishment lasting five years.

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Jamie Carragher's 'rather cheat and win' comments resurface

Man City have maintained their innocence throughout the case, claiming they have 'irrefutable evidence' to support it and have since appealed the guilty verdict.

Carragher and many others are standing by City's actions being a stain on English football after cheating, though the 48-year-old has caused backlash for comments he made about cheating four years ago that contradict his current view.

Speaking on Steven Bartlett's 'Diary of a CEO' in 2022, Carragher discussed his competitive nature and reflected on his obsession with finishing on the winning side, even going as far as to say that he would "rather cheat and win than not win".

"I'd rather cheat and win than not win - and I don't think I'll ever be any different," he said. "That's why I think football has taken me to places in my life that almost bring a tear to my eye."

While his remarks were not directly referring to Man City's charges, many - including Simon Jordan - have called out Carragher for being "hypocritical".

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Jamie Carragher responds to Simon Jordan's 'hypocritical' claims

“He has been caught in a hypocritical moment; I also went on to say that doesn’t alter what he’s saying about Man City," the former Crystal Palace chairman said on talkSPORT. "So he can defend the indefensible if he wants, so how far does that not extend to then?

"When players were getting done in the 80s for match-fixing in football, does that not inform part of the hypocrisy argument that I’m making for Jamie to turn around and say that it is ‘cheating on the field’. Cheating is cheating.”

Carragher has since clarified that the context of the original comments was in reference to Luis Garcia's infamous 'ghost goal' against Chelsea in the 2005 Champions League.

"No it’s not hypocritical," he said in response to Jordan's claim on X. "I’m talking about my striker diving for a penalty, me stopping a ball going over the line with my hand!

"I’m not talking about 900M in fake sponsorship over a number of years."

Carragher argued that cheating on the pitch is nowhere near as bad as inflating sponsorship revenue by almost £900million in City's case.

Liverpool have been heavily impacted by their actions off the pitch, finishing second behind Man City on two occasions when the alleged cheating was happening, including in 2013/14 and 2018/19.

That is why Carragher feels so strongly about their punishment, although his viewpoint arguably carries less weight after condoning cheating in some capacity.