According to the Liverpool Echo, Henry and Wenger raised concerns about Manchester City's financial operations in 2011.

During John Henry's time as Liverpool owner, one of his most memorable moments was his criticism of Arsenal's attempt to sign Luis Suárez in the summer of 2013.

At the time, Arsenal triggered the forward's release clause with a bid of £40,000,001. In response, Henry posted on social media: "What are they smoking at the Emirates?"

However, that post may now be overshadowed by another matter. After Manchester City was found guilty of 114 of 115 charges of breaching Premier League financial rules between 2009 and 2018, Henry's earlier tweet has resurfaced.

The Premier League issued a statement on Tuesday confirming the independent commission's verdict and revealing details of Manchester City's violations during that period.

This included Manchester City entering into "fictitious" contracts with multiple commercial partners and sponsors, inflating the club's revenue and reducing expenses through concealed financial arrangements between these entities. These companies paid only a portion of the sponsorship fees owed, with the remainder funded by the club's owner, the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment (ADUG).

Manchester City has maintained its innocence and plans to appeal the decision.

As early as 2011, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger publicly questioned one of these deals, and Liverpool owner Henry showed his support for the Frenchman on social media.

At that time, Manchester City announced a record sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways worth £400 million over 10 years, equivalent to £40 million per year for the club.

However, this figure was significantly higher than Arsenal's 2004 contract with Emirates Airlines, worth £90 million over 15 years.

The Manchester City and Etihad Airways partnership meant not only was the home stadium renamed Etihad Stadium, but Etihad Airways also funded the Etihad Campus surrounding the stadium and extended the team's kit sponsorship deal. Previously, they had paid £2.3 million per year for this right.

In contrast, approximately £48 million of Arsenal's contract came from kit sponsorship, while Emirates' stadium naming rights were valued at £2.8 million per year.

Wenger remarked sarcastically at the time, "We must have made a bad deal." He also accused Manchester City of exploiting Financial Fair Play loopholes and called for UEFA to investigate.

Wenger stated: "This raises a real question about the credibility of Financial Fair Play. This is the heart of the matter. The message they're sending us is that you can circumvent the rules if you want.

"This means Financial Fair Play will not be truly enforced. It's quite simple. I understand how they operate, but it raises a genuine question. Both the difficulty and credibility of Financial Fair Play are being tested.

"Furthermore, for Financial Fair Play to be meaningful, sponsorship fees must reflect market value. They cannot be two, three, or four times inflated. If that's the case, it would be better to have no rules at all and let everyone operate freely. There's logic to that, but if rules are established, they must be followed."

Manchester City subsequently responded to Wenger's comments with a statement defending the contract and dismissing his remarks about the partnership as "unfounded and regrettable."

However, Henry later joined the controversy, posting on social media in support of Wenger: "Your best player is worth at least 10% of your brand naming rights value. Wenger said boldly what everyone was thinking."

Rival clubs have questioned Manchester City's operations for years, but with Manchester City now found guilty, these suspicions appear to have been vindicated.

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