Unai Emery makes major accusation as first Premier League boss speaks out on Man City FFP verdict

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has accused "many other clubs" of inflating their budgets after Manchester City were found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.

The Premier League announced on Tuesday (September 29) that City were found guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of its financial rules following a ruling by an independent commission.

The commission found that between 2009-10 and 2017-18, the club arranged "sham" contracts with commercial partners as part of a "disguised funding scheme" to artificially inflate the club's revenues by £830million.

READ MORE: FA release statement over Manchester City FFP case with warning over 'integrity of the game'

Unai Emery becomes first Premier League manager to speak out on Man City guilty verdict

Three days after the official verdict was made public, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery made some strong comments about the situation during an interview with Spanish publication Diario de Sevilla, as per the Daily Mail.

In the past, Emery has heavily criticised the structure of Financial Fair Play (FFP) and Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which were introduced to prevent financial collapse and heavy spending across English football.

Now, the Spaniard has claimed "many other clubs" have inflated their budgets.

"It's an issue that was already known," Emery began. "Because we all have our restrictions, we have to sell players to comply with Financial Fair Play, we have to figure out how to draw up contracts with new people.

"Financial Fair Play seeks a financial balance so that what you generate is spent and there isn't inflation. Yes, many other clubs have inflated their budgets, and now it's coming to light, and naturally there's a decline.

"That's something that the courts and those responsible will have to decide. I feel sorry because how that team played. With Guardiola, there were times when they were unmatched."

Emery has become the first Premier League manager to speak out about City's guilty verdict. Image credit: Getty

On Friday, Manchester City announced that they have formally lodged an appeal against findings that the club breached Premier League financial rules.

Unai Emery has previously discussed thoughts on FFP rules

Last year, Emery claimed financial rules negatively affected their 2025 summer transfer window after they sold academy product Jacob Ramsey to comply with regulations.

“We cannot avoid that the summer has been challenging because the financial rules were conditioning our investment in the squad,” he wrote in his programme notes. “Financial control rules came to football to avoid bankruptcies and payment defaults with a good purpose.

“But as professionals we should review it, as this good tool will become a limitation for clubs that are doing good management, who’ll never be allowed to dream and get higher goals because the revenue, key for these financial rules, needs time to come to reality after sporting success.”