Haaland calls for unity at Manchester City amid furore over Premier League charges

Norway's Erling Haaland applauds the fans when leaving the pitch after being substituted during the Nations League soccer match between Portugal and Norway in Porto, Portugal, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Vieira)

Manchester City’s star striker Erling Haaland has called for unity at the club ahead of their first match since they were found guilty of a majority of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League. City will face Liverpool at Anfield and are expected to be greeted with an extremely hostile atmosphere, with the club continuing to claim innocence and even referring to the charges as “opinion of the Premier League Commission”.

“We have to stick together and we have to spread the love to each other. So yeah, stick together, enjoy the ride and smile,” said Haaland. Asked what his message would be to City fans traveling to Anfield, where a potentially hostile reception awaits the team, Haaland said: “We have to stick together, we have to stay with each other and we have to stay positive.

“No matter what happens in life, we have always have to have a smile. So we have to stay positive, look ahead and try to win football games and then try to enjoy the situation and the game.” City later published an in-house interview with head coach Enzo Maresca, who gave his first remarks on the matter with domestic soccer having been on hold for the past three weeks because of an extended international break.

“Personally I’m very calm to be honest,” he said of City’s situation. “The club has been quite clear. We trust completely the club. We understand the noise but the focus for us is just what we can control and we can control just the football side.”

The league’s investigatory panel ruled that City artificially inflated its revenue by more than $1 billion from 2009-18 to circumvent financial fair-play rules that restricted rival clubs in that period. City was found guilty by the panel of all 80 of the serious financial charges brought by the Premier League and could be hit with severe sanctions – including being expelled from the top flight. City has lodged an appeal against the findings.