Gary Neville has spoken out on Manchester City's 115 charges levelled against them by the Premier League - and whether they affect Pep Guardiola's legacy.
City were charged with 115 alleged breaches of the financial rules by the Premier League in February 2023.
The charges relate to the time period between 2009 and 2018, are largely based around allegations of a failure to provide accueate and up-to-date financial information, and an alleged failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations.
Advert
City, who have strenuously denied all the allegations against them, are still awaiting a hearing into the charges.
In the meantime, the club has won its third and fourth consecutive Premier League titles, with the fourth secured on Sunday following a final-day 3-1 win over West Ham.
Guardiola has become the first manager in English football history to win four top division titles in a row - further underlining his status as the greatest manager of the modern era.
Advert
Speaking on the latest edition of The Overlap's Stick to Football, Neville spoke about the charges levelled against City and what it means for Guardiola.
He explained: "What Pep has done, in not even a short period of time, you can't deny that if someone put Pep top [manager in Premier League history], I wouldn't say you're out of order, I'd just say Sir Alex [Ferguson].
"If someone said Pep Guardiola was top, I wouldn't say you're wrong. I'm likely to go with Sir Alex [Ferguson] anyways aren't I, and I certainly don't want to mention the 115 charges [against Manchester City] but until that's cleared, I think we do have to have a little bit of a but until that's cleared.
"You're measuring him being the best based on his success, but his success would have been built on foundations that were rule-breaking if they are found guilty. That's the foundation."
Advert
Neville continued: "If you said to me, who is the biggest influence on football in this generation, I'd probably say Pep Guardiola.
"If someone said to me that Pep Guardiola is the greatest manager of all time, above Sir Alex Ferguson, I would never argue with them because I think you couldn't even deny it. He's amazing, what he's done is unbelievable.
"I get it's not on Pep and the players. But the foundations of Manchester City, if they were to be found guilty of a significant amount of those charges, will have been built on a rule-breaking foundation."
Gary Neville was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.
Featured Image Credit: Getty / The Overlap/Stick to FootballTopics: Gary Neville, Manchester City, Football, Premier League, Pep Guardiola
Ryan Smart