On October 12, Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard appeared on the interview program "Overlap Daily," where he discussed Manchester City's alleged financial irregularities.

Gerrard said: "Obviously, it's an ongoing process, and we need time to figure out what happens next. It might go to trial, or to a so-called 'pre-trial tribunal'—you don't know how long it will take.

What frustrates me, and what frustrates everyone, is: how long until we know whether they're innocent or guilty?

As for the Manchester City players, I'm not targeting them personally. They're all excellent players, they went through that period, and they certainly deserve credit for it. I'm not the type to sit here and say I'd accept a Premier League medal, or that I want a medal they already have.

I've come to terms with the fact that I never won the Premier League. I've accepted that, and I've accepted what happened to me at the end of that season—the slip.

I hear many Manchester City players and fans say: 'You can't take those moments away from us.' But it's not just me and the teams I played for. Over the past decade, Tottenham fans, Manchester United fans, Everton fans, former and current Manchester City players, the Manchester City owners, and everyone associated with Manchester City must consider what memories they might have taken from others. That's how I feel right now.

Personally, that was a tough year, and the ending was cruel. It's not the fault of the Manchester City players. I have great respect for all the players who have played for Manchester City, my English teammates there, and their achievements. I would never disrespect them personally.

This also has nothing to do with Manchester City fans, but they must ask themselves whether their club is guilty, or when it will be found guilty. I know they'll say they're innocent, but I believe the truth will eventually come out. They must consider the losses and missed opportunities that individuals, teams, and clubs might have suffered.

What I want to say is: if this were Liverpool, and we had tarnished others' memories, I wouldn't be able to speak to their owners again—even if you trust them, because the owners would say, 'We didn't do anything wrong.'

So if they are innocent, then there's no problem.

In my view, whether past or present, if something truly happened, there should be appropriate punishment. What matters to me is that I'm not seeking a Premier League medal, because that feeling would be completely different. They performed exceptionally well at the time; one of the toughest opponents was Manchester City, both as individuals and as a team. Playing against David Silva, in particular, was difficult; he was incredibly skilled individually, and their team coordination was excellent.

But you have to wonder: how did they become so strong so quickly? Think about teams that need to build gradually, like Brighton; it should be a step-by-step process. You have to build it carefully.

So, the way they became so strong, so quickly, and so dominant—while operating within the rules, or so we thought—attracted attention.

A few weeks ago, the managers of Liverpool, Manchester United, and all the other teams competing with Manchester City were discussing their squad depth, their signings, and how they could sign so many expensive players while we could only sign a few.

This issue has been happening behind the scenes for a long time, but now they've been caught, and we'll see what the final outcome is.

I don't want individual players to return anything; I won't accept anything. I've accepted my current situation and my achievements. But from a club perspective, they must be punished.

I read something about Juventus—the Calciopoli scandal—which was a different type of issue, like match-fixing, but they were stripped of their titles, and the punishment was severe. It set an example for Italian football: you can no longer fix matches, or your titles will be taken away.

I don't know what the appropriate punishment should be. I've heard some people say they should be relegated to a lower division, but that wouldn't be fair to other teams, because they would definitely take a promotion spot, and I don't think that's right.

That's my opinion. I think the Premier League should take further action and punish them for a period of time. I'm not saying this is the correct view, but it's just my opinion.

I think they should be banned from transfers to make them feel the pain they inflicted on other teams. That's my view, and I believe any punishment needs to serve as a warning to others.

I was in a box yesterday, and I heard many foreign players talking about what Manchester City did. So this incident has had global repercussions and must be resolved quickly. Furthermore, the sanctions need to be severe enough to prevent such incidents from happening again."

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