Man City charges: Club facing second sanction as Pep Guardiola's return confirmed

Manchester City face a tense wait as they appeal after being found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules

With the international break now over eyes turn back to the Premier League for Manchester City. The full squad return to training on Thursday as they gear up for the clash against Liverpool at Anfield, but the talk pre-match is bound to be dominated by the charges handing over City.

It was confirmed during the break that the club have been found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules. An independent panel rules that City used 'sham' sponsorship deals to inflate their revenue between 2009 and 2018, something that City strongly deny.

The club have submitted an appeal against the ruling, with a new three-person panel set to hear evidence. City claim to have 'irrefutable evidence' that proves their innocence in the case.

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Should City's appeal prove unsuccessful and the guilty verdict remains, the club faces a range of potential sanctions, including fines, points deductions, transfer bans, or relegation from the Premier League.

It appears there is still much to unfold before the matter reaches its conclusion. Here's a look at the latest developments:.

Pep Guardiola's return

Former City manager Pep Guardiola will make his maiden return to the Etihad Stadium since his departure, for Wednesday night's Champions League fixture against Paris Saint-Germain. The Spaniard demonstrated his backing for City on social media the day following the confirmation of the guilty verdicts.

He wrote: "I want every single fan to know I am here; more than ever. I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran [Soriano, CEO], the players, staff, Enzo [Maresca] and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all."

In a further show of solidarity, Guardiola will be present at the match against PSG.

Double jeopardy

City face the prospect of a second sanction should the guilty verdict survive an appeal, with Sky Sports reporting that UEFA are monitoring the situation closely. The governing body will reportedly weigh up whether to intervene once a definitive outcome has been reached.

City were handed a two-year ban from European football back in 2020 after being found guilty of breaching UEFA's financial fair play regulations. The club, however, successfully overturned the ban on appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS ).

The report indicates that the Premier League had access to documents and evidence that were unavailable to UEFA when they were building their own case against City in 2020.

Dressing room reassurances

City's players have been given assurances by the club that 'sporting justice' will prevail, according to the representative of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The full squad are due to return to training for the first time since the verdict on Thursday, as they gear up for Sunday's Premier League showdown against Liverpool.

Speaking to Radio Napoli Centrale, Enzo Raiola said: "Will the Manchester City chaos change anything? No, nothing will change for us or for Gigio.

"News comes out periodically. The club has spoken with Gigio and everyone is calm.

"Now there are important games against Liverpool and PSG, then sporting justice will take its course. But Gigio has had reassurances from Manchester City."

HMRC investigation

City were reportedly placed under scrutiny by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in 2018 over potential tax evasion. The Financial Times reports that a civil investigation was launched into the club's tax affairs following the leak of emails by Der Spiegel in the same year.

The report indicates that the investigation was never formally concluded, having been carried out under the Code of Practice 8 framework, which does not encompass suspicions of deliberate fraud.

City sought guidance from external lawyers over the matter. HMRC ultimately took no action following the probe.

Former captain speaks out

Former City skipper Kyle Walker has stated that the memories of his achievements at the club cannot be erased, despite the prospect of titles being stripped. The full-back was an integral figure between 2017 and 2025, claiming the Champions League and 13 domestic honours across his eight years at the club.

Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: "Obviously it doesn't look great. I know it's in an appeal stage so, for me to start commenting on the legal action and everything like that, probably it's not going to do myself justice or anyone involved in it.

"But, at a personal level, I can say the lads, we spent many and many a great year celebrating many trophies and everything like that and that's something that, whatever happens, they can't take away from us because we've experienced them nights.

"So, whatever will be, will be, and it's just down to the appeal now and what goes from there."

He added: It's something that we probably don't want to talk about because we want to be looked upon as winning them trophies, winning them the right way.

"It's very difficult because we've worked very hard for them, and not just us, I look at the fans as well.

"I look at the fans that have travelled up and down the country, travelled abroad to Istanbul when we won the treble and stuff like that, and they deserve that night as well."