Marc Guehi says Manchester City squad trusts club after financial rule findings
The defender said players were calm and focused on football as City appealed findings over more than 100 Premier League financial rule breaches.
Manchester City defender Marc Guehi said on 19 October that the squad remained calm and trusted the club after findings against it over more than 100 Premier League financial rule breaches, according to AFP. City denied wrongdoing and was appealing the independent commission's verdicts; no punishment had been announced.
Guehi spoke before City's home Champions League match against AEK Athens, scheduled for Tuesday, 20 October. He said players, staff and fans were backing the club: ‘The team spirit has been really good.’ He described ‘a lot of relaxed faces’ and said the squad had ‘a lot of trust and belief in the football club’. The comments gave a view of how players were handling the verdicts as City prepared for another match, AFP reported.
What Guehi said about City's appeal
Asked whether players had been told why club leaders were confident of a successful appeal, Guehi said they had received no details. ‘The only thing that's been said is to focus on the football, which is all we can do,’ he said. He acknowledged the ‘noise’ around the findings but said the players were concentrating on football and that the team was staying together.
Guehi pointed to his own experience when asked why he trusted City. The club had been ‘fantastic’ with him, he said, and had supported him through difficult periods on and off the pitch. He said he knew about City's past success and wanted to be part of its future success. Manchester City's signing announcement identifies the England international defender as a former Crystal Palace player who joined on a five-and-a-half-year deal.
City's results before the AEK Athens match
City had won their opening seven Premier League games under new manager Enzo Maresca and led reigning champions Arsenal by three points, AFP reported. Their only defeat so far that season had come in Europe, where Paris Saint-Germain beat them 4-2. The AEK Athens fixture offered City a chance to respond to that result while the appeal proceeded.
AFP reported that the verdicts had prompted calls for points deductions, large fines and the removal of some City titles. Those were proposed consequences, rather than announced penalties. With the club contesting the findings, Guehi said the message to players remained focused on their matches.
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Sources and context
- Guehi insists players have 'trust and belief' in Man City after chargesAFP, republished by Yahoo Sports
- City complete Marc Guéhi signingManchester City
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.