Man City charges: Enzo Maresca makes bold appeal prediction after guilty Premier League verdict

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has insisted that he “completely trusts” the club in their legal battle against the Premier League and will speak further ‘when they win this appeal’.

The Premier League issued a damning document last month that confirmed 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.

The independent commission 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.

Richard Masters, CEO of the Premier League, has said that the findings show that Man City "systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade."

In response, Man City have been left “disappointed and surprised” by the verdict, insisting that they are “innocent”, and subsequently lodged an appeal last week.

Man City are now preparing for their first Premier League match since the verdict – a blockbuster showdown with Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Ahead of this eagerly-anticipated contest, Maresca sat down for his pre-match press conference on Friday which was unsurprisingly dominated by questions relating to City’s guilty verdict.

Maresca explains why he has “complete trust” in Man City

"First of all, good morning. I understand the reasons why most of you are here, but the only thing I can say is something I have already said,” a calm and composed Maresca told reporters.

"There is an ongoing process. In this moment, I completely trust the club. This is what I can say about that. I trust the club because I trust the people. It's the reason I joined the club.

Interestingly, Maresca stated on more than one occasion that further conversations can take place “when” not ‘if’ Man City win their appeal.

"The reason why I joined this club is I completely trust 100%, the owner, the sporting director, the CEO - all the organisation. I have no doubt about that,” the Italian added.

Asked he has had personal assurances from owner Sheikh Mansour, Maresca said: "I spoke with the club for sure. We all trust it. The right moment to speak about that is when we're going to win this appeal."

A wide range of potential sanctions have been mooted for City, including heavy fines, transfer bans, points deductions leading to relegation, expulsion from the Premier League and stripping titles.

Asked if he would he stay at Man City if the club was relegated, Maresca said: "There is not another club in the world I would like to be. I'm very happy and proud to be here. I've said it since day one."

Maresca: ‘Man City titles absolutely not tainted’

Maresca was part of Pep Guardiola’s backroom staff when Man City won a historic Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble in the 2022-23 season.

The 46-year-old has made it clear that he does not feel that the club’s titles have been tainted, saying: "Absolutely not. The last time I was here was the treble season. I know the effort from the players, the club, the manager, I know the effort the club put to achieve that target."

"The last time I spoke with Pep was after the Man Utd game,” Maresca added. “That was the last time. I know that he's coming on Tuesday (against PSG in the Champions League).

"It's always a pleasure. After 10 years here, he can come whenever he wants, not just for the game, for training sessions, at any moment. It will be nice for him, for the fans and everyone."

Guardiola previously stated that he would walk away from Man City if he found out that he had been lied to by the club, and Maresca was faced with the same question.

He responded: "I just said: 'I would like to speak about this situation when we're going to win the appeal’. It's no sense to speak about anything because I don't have much information, but I understand why most of you are here because you want to hear something."

Maresca focused on ‘managing the noise’ ahead of Liverpool clash

"What happens if the appeal is won? Maresca continued. “We are predicting the future. We don't know what will happen in the future.

"The only thing I can say is I think it's fair from my point of view to respect the process. There is an appeal ongoing. We'll see what happens."

Maresca remains fully focused on on-field matters and preparing his team for Sunday’s clash against Liverpool, with Man City bidding to win their sixth Premier League game out of six and remain top of the table.

"Just try to manage the noise,” he said. “It's something serious but at the same time we just need to manage that and focus on what we can do and what we can control, which is try to control the game in the best possible game, go to Anfield and win the game."

"In this moment, it's also a matter of sticking together. Erling (Haaland) said it yesterday, it's true. This is the situation, this is the noise. The most important thing is we continue to do the right things.

"We are on the same page with the players, the owner, the CEO, the sporting director, the fans. We need the passion from our fans, their voice. Hopefully at the end we can celebrate a good win."

Maresca’s comments in the media come after Haaland sent a positive message to Man City supporters ahead of their return to Premier League football.