‘I am here, more than ever’: Pep Guardiola sends defiant message after Manchester City ruling, backs owners and executives

Pep Guardiola has backed Manchester City's owners and hierarchy after the club were found guilty of Premier League financial rule breaches, vowing full support.

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Pep Guardiola has shown emphatic support for Manchester City’s ownership and senior hierarchy after the club was found guilty of breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations by an independent commission. The ruling was a major blow to City, as they were found to have used “sham contracts” to disguise secret funding amounting to about £830 million with their commercial partners during the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

City were found guilty of all charges linked to the financial regulations, and of all but one charge concerning their failure to cooperate with the league’s investigation. However, the eight-time Premier League champions rejected the commission’s findings and denied any wrongdoing. The club maintains that the prime evidence in their defence in this development has either been ignored or not given enough weight during the proceedings.

Immediately after the findings were revealed, the City issued its own statement, saying it was “both disappointed and surprised” by the latest turn of events. The Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, has said they still believe they can prove their innocence. While Chief Executive Fran Soriano has defended the club’s position, telling the staff and players that the “irrefutable evidence” has been ignored by the commission.

Guardiola stands firmly with his former club

Pep Guardiola, who played the role of the club’s manager from 2016 till last summer, has now made his position clear. He has backed the club, its ownership and its senior leadership without any hesitation. “I want every single Manchester City fan across the world to know that I am here; more than ever,” the Spaniard wrote in a post on his official PepTeam account on X. “I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran (Soriano), the players, staff, Enzo (Maresca) and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all.”

Notably, while still in charge, Guardiola said he would stand by the club even if punishment for the charges eventually led to relegation. From that standpoint, his intervention now comes as a significant development. The Spanish coach has been synonymous with City’s modern success. While being in charge of City for a decade, he won six Premier League titles, including four on the bounce from 2020-21. Guardiola also led the club to Champions League glory, three FA Cups and five League Cups. With all these accolades, he is considered the defining manager of the club during its most glorious era.

While showing support for the club, Guardiola has proven his loyalty to them in a tough time. Although he no longer holds the office, his statement serves as a crucial moral boost for Manchester City as they prepare to challenge the ruling through the appeals process.

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  Probuddha Bhattacharjee is a sports writer and analyst with expertise spanning cricket, football, and multi-sport events, with a strong emphasis on data-driven journalism and tactical storytelling. He currently focuses on international cricket, the Indian Premier League, global tournaments, and emerging trends shaping modern sport, blending advanced statistics with strong narrative context to explain performance, strategy, and decision-making. His work aims to bridge the gap between numbers and storytelling, helping readers understand not just what happened on the field, but the tactical and structural reasons behind it. Trained in data journalism through the Google News Initiative (GNI) Data Journalism Lab, Probuddha works extensively with ball-by-ball datasets, performance metrics, and trend-based modelling to produce evidence-backed reports, explainers, and long-form features. His analytical approach focuses not only on outcomes but also on process—selection strategies, phase-wise tactics, workload management, and the influence of preparation and planning on match results. He is particularly interested in how statistical patterns reshape conventional cricketing narratives and provide clearer tactical insight for modern audiences. Beyond cricket, Probuddha has written analytical and news-driven pieces on football and other major sporting events, with a growing interest in sports governance, scheduling dynamics, and the economics of elite competitions. He also tracks how rule changes, franchise structures, and broadcast pressures influence the evolution of contemporary sport. He has previously contributed to platforms such as OneCricket, Sportskeeda, and CrickTracker, and continues to specialise in analytical storytelling, live coverage, and audience-focused reporting. His work prioritises clarity, context, and credibility, while consistently exploring innovative ways to present data through accessible narratives and structured match analysis.Read More