Maresca confident Manchester City will overturn financial breaches verdict

Manchester City head coach Enzo Maresca says he has complete faith in the club’s hierarchy to win their appeal against an independent commission’s verdict over serious breaches of Premier League financial rules.

Maresca addressed the case publicly for the first time at his Friday news conference before Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Liverpool at Anfield.

Manchester City were found guilty of all the charges considered by the commission, which relate to alleged financial rule breaches between 2009 and 2018.

The club denies the allegations and has appealed against the verdict, arguing that it contains material errors of law, principle and fact. The appeal is expected to lead to a lengthy legal process.

Maresca, who was previously Pep Guardiola’s assistant during Manchester City’s treble-winning 2022/23 campaign, said his trust in the club’s senior figures was a key factor in his decision to become manager at the Etihad Stadium.

“The reason why I joined this club is I completely trust 100 per cent, the owner, the sporting director, the CEO all the organisation,” Maresca said.

“I have no doubt about that. I think they are convinced that in the end we will win the appeal.”

The Italian was also asked whether the commission’s findings had damaged Manchester City’s achievements during the period under investigation.

He rejected that suggestion and defended the contribution of the players, the club and Guardiola, who was manager at the time.

“Absolutely not. I know the effort from the players, the club and the manager at the time, Pep (Guardiola), so I don’t have any doubt about that,” he said.

Maresca said his attention remained on football, despite the significance of the case and the questions surrounding the club before their match at Anfield.

He acknowledged that he had not read the commission’s findings, adding that his position was based on his confidence in Manchester City’s leadership and his focus on matters the team can influence.

“Again, I trust the club. I promise you my focus is just about football so I’m not thinking about different things because, first of all, I don’t understand about many things,” Maresca said.

“For me, for the players, we can control just the football side. We are focused on that and that is what we can control, we can’t control anything different.”