Mauricio Pochettino, manager of the United States men's national team, spoke on Monday about the numerous financial irregularities attributed to Manchester City. He expressed his disappointment, saying that supporters "have lived through a period where they were deceived" because of Manchester City's violations.

According to The Guardian and other media outlets, Manchester City was found guilty by the Premier League of breaching the vast majority of 115 different financial regulations, with these violations occurring between 2009 and 2018.

Pochettino managed Tottenham Hotspur from 2014 to 2019 and Southampton from 2013 to 2014. He also managed Chelsea during the 2023-2024 season.

When The Guardian asked him for his opinion on Manchester City's breaches, Pochettino responded in Spanish: "Where is the regulation? That's what worries me the most. Where is the regulation?"

"If I remember correctly, I was at Southampton at the time, then I went to Tottenham. I remember we were building Tottenham's stadium and for 18 consecutive months, we had no financial means to sign players. I think we were perhaps the only team in Premier League history that couldn't sign players for 18 consecutive months."

"If a team like ours, like Tottenham, while fighting for the title, finishing in the top four every season and reaching the Champions League semi-finals, couldn't sign players for 18 months because we had to comply with Premier League financial regulations, then it's very strange."

"They imposed very strict rules on us, but were very lenient with other teams. That's why I say: all of this is very strange. This world is full of lies. I often have a feeling of unreality. What exactly were we fighting against back then? What was real?"

Following the Abu Dhabi takeover, Manchester City underwent significant changes, culminating in a historic treble (Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League) in the 2022-2023 season.

Manchester City's troubles began in 2018 when German magazine Der Spiegel published an investigation revealing potential financial irregularities, citing leaked internal documents that detailed a series of violations between 2008 and 2018.

Manchester City has consistently denied the allegations. In 2023, the Premier League charged Manchester City, claiming the club had provided false financial information, with some issues relating to payments to players and coaches.

Additionally, Manchester City was accused of breaching UEFA's financial fair play rules, as well as the Premier League's own Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

In 2020, UEFA attempted to sanction Manchester City by banning the club from UEFA competitions such as the Champions League and imposing a €30 million fine. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) later overturned this sanction. CAS found that some of the alleged violations were time-barred, while others were not sufficiently proven.

Currently, Manchester City is expected to appeal the Premier League's decision within the next two weeks, and the subsequent legal proceedings could take a considerable amount of time.

When asked what sanction Manchester City should face in his view, Pochettino once again expressed his disappointment with the entire situation.

"Whatever sanction is ultimately chosen, it's impossible to go back in time," he said. "The damage has already been done and goes far beyond what the rules themselves can measure. Ultimately, many clubs followed the rules, and some clubs did not."

"Perhaps they thought back then that sanctions wouldn't come for many years—and then what? Financial penalties? Points deductions? That's really difficult to manage."

"It's sad," Pochettino continued. "It's an immense sadness. Ultimately, we're now in a situation where things that were celebrated in the past may not have been so real, things that looked good may not have been so good, and things that looked bad might have been good originally, but because of everything that happened later, they can't really become good."

"Ultimately, we lived through a period where sporting fairness didn't exist. So if these 114 violations are ultimately confirmed, how can we repair all the damage caused? We have lived through a period where we were deceived."

Last week, Pochettino also spoke about the Premier League's sanctions against Chelsea. Chelsea had also been found guilty of similar violations, albeit on a much smaller scale.

In the 2016-2017 season, Chelsea won the Premier League, while Tottenham, Pochettino's team, finished second. Subsequently, Chelsea was heavily sanctioned by the Premier League for undisclosed payments to players, coaches, and other associated persons, and also received a nine-month ban on signing academy players.

Last week, in an interview with British media, Pochettino said: "We should have won a title, a Premier League title."

"They were penalized, and they admitted the violations, so is that the end? The title should go to the team that finished second... The fact is we weren't playing by the same rules back then."

"Of course, now we can say they scored goals, won matches, and that's it. But it's perfectly reasonable to say that before the season started, we weren't playing with the same cards in hand."

Pochettino also said: "If the same rules had been applied back then, we might have been able to sign players to strengthen the team, or score more goals."

"It's not me complaining, it's the truth. If they admit they broke the rules, then the Premier League title should go to the team that finished second."

After the match against Chile, the American team will face Mexico and Canada on October 3 and 6 respectively, in Phoenix, Arizona, and Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Traduit par IA.

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