Jamie Carragher calls for Manchester City owners to leave and urges three-to-five-year punishment

Jamie Carragher has called for Manchester City’s owners to leave the club and said any punishment for alleged financial rule breaches should last between three and five years.

The Liverpool great believes a one-season sanction would not be sufficient after an independent commission found the club had committed widespread financial violations over a nine-year period.

The commission concluded that more than £830m in funding had been concealed through “sham” sponsorship arrangements between 2009 and 2018.

Manchester City strongly denies any wrongdoing and has appealed against the ruling. No punishment will be imposed until that process has concluded, with a range of possible sanctions available.

Carragher believes the club should face a penalty lasting several seasons rather than simply receiving a large points deduction once.

Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, presented by Sky Bet, he said: “I think if people talk about an 80-point or 100-point deduction, that just means one season, you get relegated and then you come back up again.”

He added: “Some players will leave, but I think some will say, ‘I can put up with that for a year.’ It also builds a relationship with the supporters, and they will be viewed very positively.”

Carragher continued: “I think this has to go on for a long time. I think the punishment should be over several years, from three to five years, and then the players will move on to another stage.”

Questions over City’s ownership

The former England defender also questioned how City could retain their leading players if a punishment severely damaged the club’s income.

“But then comes the financial side,” he said. “How can they afford the wages of these players if they do not have money from the Premier League?”

“If they have to pay all that money, and you can only spend the money you earn, they will have to abide by that now.”

Carragher also criticised City’s hierarchy, including owner Sheikh Mansour and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak. He questioned how supporters and players could continue to trust those running the club if the commission’s ruling is upheld.

“I do not know how the owners can continue,” he said. “How can you trust them if they are found guilty of this?”

Carragher said he feared City would never simply accept the outcome if they lost their appeal.

“They will never admit they were wrong in this,” he said. “They will always say, ‘We have been treated unfairly, it was a farce,’ whether that was by the Premier League itself or different people.”

He added that continued delays could damage the wider game and said the issue needed resolving “for football, but also for Manchester City and its supporters”.

Carragher defends City’s players

Carragher said the controversy should not destroy the reputations of the players who delivered City’s success on the pitch.

“I have always felt they are guilty, they manipulated the records, they cheated and the titles should be taken away,” he said. “But I cannot change my view of the individual players.”

“If I were Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva or Vincent Kompany, I would be furious with the club because people would be having these conversations.”

He added: “I still think about Kevin De Bruyne striking those balls with his right foot, and I think that has nothing to do with the owner.”

Carragher said he felt sorry for City supporters, who continued to back the people they believe transformed the club and delivered unprecedented success.