Guardiola says club has 'already been sentenced' after being charged by EPL

Pep Guardiola is confident Manchester City are innocent but believes the club has "already been sentenced" after being charged by the Premier League for allegedly breaching financial rules.

City were hit with more than 100 charges relating to financial breaches earlier this week and face a wide range of possible sanctions if found guilty by an independent commission.

The case could take up to four years to reach a conclusion but Guardiola insisted judgement has always been reached by the club’s detractors.

The City boss also took fierce aim at their rivals after nine clubs wrote to UEFA to uphold a two-year Champions League ban during an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

'Go to the chairman, CEOs, Daniel Levy, ask them,' Guardiola said when asked whether he believe the charges had been driven by rival clubs.

‘My first thought is that we have already been condemned,’ Guardiola said. ‘We are lucky that we live in a marvellous country that everyone is innocent until proven guilty [but] we didn’t have this opportunity. We were already sentenced.

‘Let us defend, please. I’d say they [the club’s board] are more confident. The club talked with all of us. We trained like normal to try and beat Aston Vila. Why should they be distracted? All the big moments belong to us, our fans, our people.

‘We’ve lived this story before. Between the nine teams before, the 19 teams now, I’m sorry I rely on my people.

‘The club talked with all of us. We trained like normal to try and beat Aston Vila. Why should they be distracted? All the big moments belong to us, our fans, our people.’

Asked if the Premier League’s charges have been driven by other teams, Guardiola replied: ‘Yes, of course. What they have done to us, be careful. They have opened a precedent now. A lot of clubs can be accused.

‘What happened to restore the damage after UEFA? Burnley, Wolves, Leicester, Newcastle Spurs, United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea wanted us out of the competition.

‘Is it different? No. The same articles. You have to go to League Two, maybe Conference. We were in Maine Road. Maybe we ask Paul Dickov, Mike Summerbee to come back and we’ll do it again.’

The 52-year-old also committed his future to City, maintaining that he will remain in his post despite the allegations.

‘I’m not moving from this seat, I can assure you,’ he added. ‘More than ever. They didn’t lie to me. Look a UEFA. We didn’t do anything wrong. We proved it. It’s the same case.’

Pep: I'm not going anywhere

Guardiola has previously said he would leave City if accusations they had broken the rules were proved true.

However, when asked that question again in light of the new charges, the Spaniard insists he has no intention of quitting his job.

He said: "I am not moving from this seat, I can assure you. I want to stay more than ever."

Guardiola claimed his players will not be affected by the matter as they prepare to take on Aston Villa at the Etihad on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.

"We have trained like normal to try to beat Aston Villa," he said. "We will try to play well against a team with a good manager with a lot of experience.

"The players will be focused on our game, for sure."