Neville hints Man City’s 115 expenses will all the time cloud Guardiola

Gary Neville has hinted that Pep Guardiola’s relative success in the Premier League will always be overshadowed by the 115 charges Manchester City are facing for allegedly breaching financial rules.

The Citizens are still awaiting an outcome for the 115 charges – that are strongly denied by the club – which include a failure to provide accurate financial information between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, a failure to provide accurate details of player and manager payments during the same period, and alleged breaches of Premier League and UEFA financial rules.

A total of 35 relate to a failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations into the matter between December 2018 and February 2023. A date for City’s hearing has yet to be confirmed and with legal challenges and appeals, is likely to drag on for several years yet.

As such, many have argued that City’s recent successes will always have an ‘asterisk’ alongside them, while others such as Ian Wright have claimed it is ‘unfair’ for their titles to be so overshadowed as the 15-month wait for a resolution continues.

Neville, speaking on the Stick To Football Podcast brought to you by Sky Bet, was discussing whether Guardiola could be considered the best ever manager in the Premier League, but suggested there would always be ‘a “but”‘ until an outcome was reached.

Pep Guardiola won his sixth Premier League title as City boss and the club’s eighth overall

Gary Neville hinted that Man City’s 115 FFP charges would cloud Guardiola’s claim to being the Premier League’s best ever until an outcome was reached

‘What Pep [Guardiola] 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 your 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.

He added: ‘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.’

The charges have been hanging over Man City’s heads for over a year now, and provided many fans with ammunition to detract from the success of the club. 

In his column for the Daily Telegraph, Jamie Carragher also claimed the charges ‘created a legal minefield with the club disputing each allegation’, before branding the ongoing issue as ‘a public relations disaster’ for City. 

Premier League CEO Richard Masters said a trial date for Man City’s case was set in January, but it has not yet been revealed when it would take place.

Mail Sport reported last year that the ‘trial of the century’ was pencilled in for late 2024, with a verdict not expected until at least the summer of 2025. 

After Guardiola‘s side beat West Ham 3-1 to wrap up another title, finishing two points ahead of Arsenal, Wright stressed clarity is urgently needed, telling BBC Match of the Day: ‘I think it’s unfair, with the uncertainty that comes around it.’

Ian Wright told Match of the Day it’s ‘unfair’ City’s current side have the financial charges hanging over them 

Neville stated that the success of Man City may be based on ‘rule-breaking’ foundations if they are found guilty

‘It’s unfair on the legacy that these players are building. You watch them that [Netflix] Treble documentary; the drive and determination to try and do what they’ve done is unbelievable.

‘It’s unfair that they’ve got all of this around them. The sooner they get this resolved, the better.’

Alan Shearer concurred that the 115 charges had cast a shadow over the current City crop of players, who weren’t around at the time of the alleged breaches.

‘It’s not their fault. They just have to go out and perform on the football pitch,’ he said.

‘The club will have to answer those charges. Those players have been superb and you can’t take anything away from what those players and what they’ve achieved.’

Gary Neville was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.