According to former Guardiola teammate Stephen Appiah, the Man City financial scandal is likely to weigh heavily on Pep Guardiola.

The Ghanaian legend shared a locker room with Guardiola while playing for Italian club Brescia during the 2002-03 season, a team that also included Roberto Baggio.

Appiah believes the Spaniard will find it harder than most to deal with the crisis engulfing Man City.

In the biggest disciplinary investigation in Premier League history, Man City was found to have severely breached Premier League financial rules. The allegations, spanning from 2009 to 2018, claim an independent commission found the club used fictitious commercial arrangements to inflate revenue. Man City strongly denies any wrongdoing and has launched a full appeal against the ruling.

Guardiola departed the Etihad Stadium at the end of last season. During his decade coaching Man City, he amassed numerous trophies. After his departure, he immediately expressed support for his former club, stating he was "more supportive than ever" of Man City, and pledging: "We will get through this together."

Appiah said that anyone who knows the 55-year-old coach would understand how deeply this turmoil would affect him. The former Ghana captain told The Sun: "I think many people underestimate Pep's passion.

"He's a very straightforward person. When he was at Brescia, he always stayed close to me and Roberto Baggio, following us wherever we went.

"Once something goes wrong, he wants to fix it immediately. He doesn't like living with bad feelings. Whenever something happened with the team, even if we didn't get results, you could see it would affect him.

"So I know that with everything happening at Man City right now, he'll feel it the moment he walks out the door. He won't be at ease."

The Premier League accuses Man City of concealing £900 million in revenue over nine years through fictitious transactions. Man City was found guilty on 114 of the initial 115 charges, with the total number of charges now rising to 130, categorized into six main areas.

Appiah continued: "And we all know he's a very passionate person, so he won't be happy when others question what he's done on the football pitch and all the achievements he's made.

"From what I know of him during our time together, he will do everything he can to get to the bottom of these issues completely."

After joining Man City from Bayern in 2016, Guardiola transformed the team into a dominant force in English football. He led them to six Premier League titles and, in 2023, guided the team to a historic treble, finally bringing the club its first Champions League trophy.

However, the guilty verdict has brought that period of unprecedented success for Man City under renewed scrutiny. There is no indication that Guardiola was involved in the financial irregularities, and the former Barcelona coach has consistently supported Man City's management.

Guardiola previously stated: "I want every Man City fan around the world to know that I am here and more supportive than ever.

"I stand, have stood, and will stand behind my club, my owners, my chairman, Ferran, the players, the staff, Enzo, and you, the one-of-a-kind supporters.

"Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all."

Man City has now officially appealed the commission's ruling, ensuring that this most controversial financial case in Premier League history will continue.

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