Man City charges: Quotes from every Premier League manager on guilty 114 verdict

As the Premier League returns this weekend, the entire football landscape is dominated by Manchester City’s high-stakes legal battle against England's top division.

Last month, the Premier League issued a damning document confirming that City have been found guilty of all charges in relation to serious breaches of the league’s financial rules and the majority of charges relating to its failure to co-operate with the investigation.

An independent commission have found that the Citizens arranged "sham" contracts with a number of commercial partners to disguise secret funding of more than £830m and artificially inflate revenues between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

Man City continue to insist that they are innocent and have subsequently lodged an appeal.

Manager Enzo Maresca was in defiant mood at his press conference on Friday, 09 October 2026 insisting that he has “complete trust” in the club who will win their appeal.

Here, Sports Mole rounds up what the remaining 19 Premier League managers have had to say on Man City’s guilty verdict.

Arsenal – Mikel Arteta

"I fully understand the question, but obviously I think it's very important that we respect the process and the timelines,” Arteta told reporters at a press conference on Friday.

It's still an ongoing process that is not resolved, because it's been appealed, and my position, and the club's position, is not to make any further comments until this is fully resolved.

"Again, as I said, I understand the question where they're coming from. It's a lot of noise around it. It's an ongoing process that is not resolved yet and I think we need to respect it and certainly I have to respect that."

Asked if the verdict with inspire Man City in their title pursuit, Arteta added: "I don't know, that's something that's not in our hands.

“In our hands it's the way we have prepared, since all the internationals are back, to be in the best possible condition, to be better than Leeds tomorrow and beat them. That's where the focus has been."

Aston Villa – Unai Emery

"It is an issue that was already known,” Emery told Diario de Sevilla. “We all have our restrictions; we have to sell players to comply with Financial Fair Play, and we have to figure out how to structure contracts for new signings.

"Fair Play seeks financial balance so that spending aligns with revenue and inflation is avoided. Yes, many other clubs have inflated their budgets, and now it’s coming to light, and naturally, there is a decline."

Emery added: "That is something for the courts and the authorities to decide.

"I feel bad about it, given how that team played. Under Guardiola, there were times when they were unbeatable."

Bournemouth – Marco Rose

"I played many times against Manchester City in the Champions League with my former clubs and for me it was always the best thing to challenge with the best players and the best clubs in the world. That's what I felt,” Rose said at a press conference on Thursday.

"I'm not this kind of guy who blames someone with not enough information. Of course, I hear everything, I read everything, but I do not have all the information.

"I trust in the guys who are involved in these kinds of things and situations and then we will see what happens. I'm a football coach not a politician and I love to be a football coach and it should stay like this."

Brentford – Keith Andrews

"I think it's a huge situation for the Premier League to have to deal with,” Andrews said at a press conference on Friday. “The fact that it's still ongoing, I think it's wrong for me to really dig too much into that.

“I think I should respect where the authorities are with this and trying to come to the right outcome, which I'm sure they will. I think (a quick conclusion) will be the aim and the hope for everybody, that the outcome will be finalised sooner rather than later, for sure.

“You've got to trust the authorities to come up with the right outcome."

Brighton & Hove Albion – Fabian Hurzeler

“That [Man City case] I can't control anything from that! Hurzeler said at a press conference on Friday. “The only thing I can really focus on is our preparation, how we are doing, and therefore that's just distraction.

“A distraction, what is not in our hands, where hopefully it will be dealt with, but again, not my topic and I have enough topics to manage here.”

Asked what impact could waiting for the outcome of the appeal or potential sanctions have on the remainder of the season, Hurzeler added: “Let's see how it's going.

“What I heard is that there are still some ongoing processes and therefore I think it's really, really difficult to say anything about that now.

“If there's nothing clear yet, we should really focus on ourselves and if there are results, we can speak again.”

Chelsea – Xabi Alonso

"For sure, there is a decision, but we need to be patient. We need to wait until the final sanctions from the panel,” Alonso said at a press conference on Friday.

"I think that they are independent enough to assess all the situations. For sure, I'm not an expert and whatever I say, whatever opinion we have, they are the ones that have to take it and we need to respect it and be patient.

"For sure, there will be a moment that we will know, but probably it's going to take a little bit longer."

Alonso added: "For us, it's not in our hands. It's something that I think we need to respect, that independence from the judicial panel and let's see what happens within the rules to be respected."

Coventry City – Frank Lampard

"We've all seen the news, it's obviously big news, Man City are appealing. I guess my reaction is that, right?” Lampard said at a press conference on Thursday.

"What can you say when an appeal is going on? I'm not inside the story, I'm outside it completely. I played for Man City a long time ago now, for one year. We'll wait and see what the result of the appeal is and onwards. I don't know the timelines at all."

Lampard added: "I'm outside the loop. I have this job and my, not problems, but things I need to work on and I always respect a manager for whatever situation, there are a lot of things you don't know.

"This is obviously something we do know but they are obviously a huge football club now, a huge squad of quality players so we will see."

Crystal Palace – Pierre Sage

"First of all we already played against Manchester City which is why I don't really have interest to look at them in depth,” Sage said at a press conference on Friday.

"The second thing is now the facts are here I think it is for a court to make the decision and quickly."

Discussing what delays to the sanctions could mean for the rest of the Premier League, Sage said: "I think that is why the court have to make a quick decision. We will see after this first decision because there is another chance to have an appeal."

Everton – David Moyes

"I wasn't here when it was difficult for Everton, when things were bad,” Moyes said at a press conference on Friday.

"Looking at it now from where I am sitting, it looks terrible that we have been docked points and pay some fines and not that long ago.

"There's other things that have been going on - nearly 10 years ago - that have not been dealt with. I find that really difficult. I hope it's not just Everton who are getting picked on here. I think we get picked on by the referees and every other area as well."

Moyes added: "I have to say off the back [of what he just said that], that Manchester City have helped to raise the level of the Premier League with the level of football that they have played.

"The managers and players that they have had have been unbelievable. All the managers that went to play against them had park the bus because they were that good."

Fulham – Alvaro Arbeloa

"I don't care", Arbeloa said at a press conference on Friday

"I prefer not to make any comments. I am the Fulham head coach. I have to make many decisions about my team. That's the most important thing."

Hull City – Sergej Jakirovic

Sergej Jakorivic has not yet publicly commented on the verdict regarding Man City's case.

Ipswich Town – Gary O'Neil

"Nothing really. You guys probably know me well enough already to know that I've spent the last three weeks trying to make sure that we're ready for Fulham,” O’Neil said at a press conference on Friday.

"I've not paid too much attention to it. It's not something that I'm involved in or want to be involved in. It's up to the powers that be to come to the right conclusions.

"We have an excellent five-game block here to attack and see what we can put on the table. So I'm not going to be distracted and I've not even given it a second's thought, to be honest."

O'Neil played in the Premier League player for West Ham and Norwich during the period which City have been found guilty of financially doping.

Asked to reflect on his time playing for West Ham United and Norwich City during the period City are said to have breached Premier League rules between 2009 and 2018, O’Neil laughed and replied: "Did I really?"

"It feels longer ago than that. Unfortunately, I was never in direct competition with Manchester City.

"Honestly, I have no feelings. I don't know anything about it. It would be crazy of me to try and give you an opinion on something that I know absolutely nothing about.

"I can guarantee I know less about it than you guys. So I'd be better off asking you guys what you think about it, probably."

O’Neil added: "Whenever I came up against them you just felt they had loads of good players. That was also the case when we played Alex Ferguson's Man Utd, Arsene Wenger's Arsenal, (Jose) Mourinho's Chelsea. They all had a lot of good players.

"I'm sure it will all get sorted and I'm sure we'll all move on. As I say, my focus is tomorrow and can we get to nine points."

Leeds United – Daniel Farke

"It's not my topic, my topic is football and there are more qualified people to speak about this, so it is not my topic," Farke said at a press conference on Thursday.

"I don't know (how verdict could impact the rest of the season). It is not up to me and I was not involved in the title race in these years. I had different topics to deal with during this time when Manchester City won many titles.

"I think I just had one home game with them with Norwich, we won by the way, so I can't complain too much.

“It also makes no sense if right now everyone in the world wants to have opinions about this topic, there are more qualified people to talk about it. My topic is Leeds United."

Liverpool – Andoni Iraola

Speaking to reporters on Friday ahead of Liverpool’s clash against Man City on Sunday, Iraola said: "We don't know about the situation so I don't think it is fair to give an opinion. They [the commission] have spent the time they've spent analysing everything.

"They have taken a lot of time so they are the ones who have to give a lot of answers. My opinion is not valid because I haven't spent that time and I haven't read as much as they've done."

"I've said it before, the worst thing probably is the uncertainty. No one knows what's going to happen," he added. "We have to focus on Liverpool and being the best club we can be, the best team we can be. That's my challenge."

Manchester United – Michael Carrick

"I think at the moment, as it's still not finalised, I think I'll hold that one until later on," Carrick said at a press conference on Friday.

"I think regardless of anything, a medal anyway, in any sport in history, I think later on you get the medal, and it's proven at different times.

"It's the moment that you strive for to win and achieve in that moment, so the medal here or there, not getting blasé about it, but that doesn't bring the feeling of when you initially win or you don't win. That's essentially what we're all in it for.

"Certainly I've got my own questions about it, you know, it's affected me personally in different ways over a period of time."

"What I will say, the sooner it gets sorted I think for everyone's benefit is essential. Speed is essential. I think that's pretty obvious for me to sit here and say that.

"There's so many angles to look at from so many different perspectives, but really speed is essential for everyone to be clear, to be able to deal with it, to be able to move on whatever happens, I think.

"It's unprecedented, you know, a unique situation to be in this, at this level with such a huge impact in so many ways. So, we all need to know what's going to happen, really. I think that's pretty clear."

Newcastle United – Matthias Jaissle

“I think that as a manager of another club, I am not able to judge and it is not my job,” Jaissle said at a press conference on Thursday. “Especially it is not in my job description to judge on that.

“The authorities are taking care of it and there is a clear process now which will be followed, speaking on behalf of the whole club it is the right approach to focus on what we can do better and what we can influence on the pitch.

“We should just focus on what we can influence and, in general, as a club, to improve and strive forward. Just focus on what we can do better.”

Nottingham Forest – Oliver Glasner

"Let’s wait until the final verdict is spoken, but my wish is just that this is quick,” Glasner said at a press conference on Friday.

"Because we didn’t know with Palace if we were in the Europa League or Conference League and then it was ‘you will hear on Thursday’ and then that became Monday, because it was always delayed.

"Then we got the final verdict 10 days before the Conference League started, and that’s why I think this must be [completed] as soon as possible. There is still damage for the Premier League, not just in England.

"It’s a big topic all over the world, especially in Europe. The most important thing is the integrity of the league because as soon as the fans can’t trust it, they won’t watch it anymore."

Sunderland – Regis Le Bris

"There are still ongoing legal proceedings so it's not for me to comment on that,” Le Bris said at a press conference on Thursday.

“My position is simple: football has rules, on and off the pitch. You have to respect those rules, when they are broken they should have consequences otherwise it's not fair.

“We want fair competition, we want fair game, fair play, so the relevant authorities have to be relentless otherwise you lose the value of the competition. So we'll see.

“It happened 10 years ago, more or less. We were not here in Sunderland, for example, but it's about respecting rules so it's key because if you don't have fair competition it's a bit weird, so it's more or less the feeling we have in the building."

Tottenham Hotspur – Roberto De Zerbi

Tottenham’s press officer refused questions specifically about Manchester City’s legal case on Friday, but one journalist asked about De Zerbi experience as a player in Italy during the Calciopoli scandal.

He said: "What do you mean? Manchester City? You want to arrive to Manchester City? Listen, I was crazy as a player. I don't remember my thoughts.

“When you are a player, you don't think too much and when you are a coach, the same because the focus is on your player and especially now because we are at the bottom of the table.

"I have no time to think to the other problems than my team and my club. I think there are people who have to decide who takes the decision with responsibility, with courage and honesty always. It is not my job.

"My job is to be a coach, but I love respecting the rules like all people in our club."