Man City made mistake before guilty verdict as ‘secret talks’ revealed

Manchester City reportedly made a major mistake which may cost them their Premier League status ahead of the verdict on the 115 charges.

The Premier League confirmed that City had been found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought against them after an independent commission hearing.

Most charges related to breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules between 2009 and 2018, a period in which City won three league titles, among other major honours.

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Man City held 'secret talks' with Premier League

In a lengthy statement, the league explained how City had used “sham” contracts to inflate revenue figures and reduce costs, as well as arranging disguised funding schemes worth more than £830million with commercial partners.

The commission also found City guilty of all but one of the charges relating to non-cooperation with the league’s investigation, saying that “a number of important club witnesses gave false evidence in key respects and that some knowingly gave untrue and dishonest evidence”.

Potential punishments include suspension from playing in the league, points deductions, the replaying of matches, expulsion from the league, being ordered to pay compensation to other clubs, automatic relegation and even the stripping of titles.

And it appears City and the Premier League previously held ‘secret settlement talks’ before the guilty verdict, but they ultimately could not come to an agreement, despite the club potentially being let off with a fine rather than facing more extreme sanctions, such as the stripping of titles and relegation.

Bloomberg reports that the settlement would have focused on a sizeable financial payment, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

However, this type of sanction would likely have been opposed by the rest of the Premier League’s clubs.

City have since appealed the verdict and deny any wrongdoing. The club say they have a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists” to support their position.

“The Club’s firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe,” Manchester City said in a previous statement. “The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League.”

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What did Enzo Maresca say about the guilty verdict?

City boss Maresca faced the media on Friday (October 9) ahead of City’s trip to Anfield, where they face Liverpool on October 11.

The Italian was in a positive mood, given the circumstances, and rubbished suggestions that City’s previous success was now tainted before insisting that he trusts the club’s owners.

Maresca said: “The reason I joined this club is that I completely trust, 100%, the owner, the CEO, the sporting director, all the organisation. So I don't have doubt about that.

“I spoke with the club for sure. We all trust, and probably the right moment to speak about that is when we are going to win this appeal.”

He added: “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.”

When asked whether he would’ve taken the job last summer if he had known what was to come, Maresca replied “100 percent” before explaining: “We didn't speak about that because I don't think it was a problem for the club at the time and I think they are thinking in an honest way.

“I think they are convinced that in the end we are going to win the appeal.”

City currently sit top of the Premier League with a perfect record of five wins from as many matches.

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