Roy Keane says Manchester City players should throw medals away after financial breaches

Roy Keane says he would throw away any medals won by Manchester City during the period covered by the club’s financial-rule case, describing the Premier League champions’ conduct as cheating.

The former Manchester United captain was speaking after the Premier League confirmed on Tuesday that City had breached its financial regulations over nine years between 2009 and 2018.

City were found to have created sham agreements with commercial partners, allegedly enabling more than 830 million pounds to be channelled into their football operations.

The club continue to deny any wrongdoing and intend to appeal the verdict.

Manchester City won eight trophies during the period under investigation, including three Premier League titles. The club have won the league eight times since Sheikh Mansour’s takeover in 2009, with three of those championships coming between 2009 and 2018.

No punishment has yet been announced. However, stripping Manchester City of Premier League titles remains one possible sanction.

Keane said the circumstances surrounding the club’s success had undermined the value of the medals won by its players.

“If I was a player, I’d be 100% sticking those medals in the bin. Of course you would, it’s cheating,” Keane told ITV Sport.

“They won it on the pitch because cheating was going on.”

Keane also criticised the club’s decision to continue with the alleged conduct despite the effect it would have on others.

“They knew it would hurt a lot of people, but they’ve still done it,” he added.