Mauricio Pochettino has claimed Man City being found guilty of the vast majority of charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules would confirm a ‘period of deceit’ and believes ‘no punishment’ could repair the damage caused.
City have been found guilty of all substantive charges brought by the Premier League, over a time period in which they lifted three titles as part of an eight-trophy haul.
The findings of the tribunal, which concluded in December 2024, are still to be made public.
The breaches of Premier League financial regulations span between 2009 and 2018.
Pochettino managed Southampton from 2013 to 2014, before a five-year spell in charge of Tottenham from 2014 to 2019.
‘We have lived through a period where sporting justice did not exist,’ Pochettino said, in Spanish, when asked about the verdict in the Man City case.
Former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, left, has claimed Man City being found guilty breaches of Premier League financial rules would confirm a ‘period of deceit’
Man City were crowned champions twice during Pochettino’s time in charge of Tottenham
‘It’s very difficult when out of 115 charges you are found guilty of 114 to know what the punishment should be to make it fair.
‘Because there are other clubs like Nottingham Forest or Everton that broke rules and received different sanctions, whether point deductions or fines.
‘It’s a very difficult situation that causes astonishment given the magnitude of the verdict. And it’s also fair to ask where the controls were for the rules to be broken like that. That’s what catches my attention the most.’
Tottenham missed out on Champions League qualification after finishing fifth in Pochettino’s first season in charge, with Man City finishing as league runners-up.
Man City were crowned champions in both 2018 and 2019, as Pochettino’s side finished third and fourth in the league.
Pochettino highlighted that his Tottenham side had operated under financial constraints during his final years at the club.
Tottenham famously became the first Premier League side not to sign a player in both the summer and winter transfer windows during the 2018-19 season.
The period coincided with the construction of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Pochettino also referenced his recent comments that Tottenham should be awarded the 2017 Premier League title.
Pochettino stated ‘We have lived through a period where sporting justice did not exist’ and that ‘no punishment’ handed to Manchester City would be able to repair the damage caused
Pochettino recently claimed Tottenham should have been awarded the 2017 Premier League title after Chelsea admitted to breaking rules by making secret payments to secure transfers
Chelsea pipped Spurs to the Premier League title under Antonio Conte in 2017, finishing the season on 93 points – seven clear of Tottenham’s 86 – but have since admitted to breaking the rules by making more than £47million in secret payments to unregistered agents and third parties to facilitate transfers.
‘That was a big disadvantage because we were fighting among the best teams and reaching a Champions League final [in 2019],’ Pochettino said.
‘Why were those controls so strict with us and not as much with others? That’s why I say everything is very strange, and the problem is that everything gets clouded.
‘If it’s true that they broke 114 rules, we have lived through a period of deceit.
‘No type of punishment will make it possible to repair what was done, and the Premier League’s controls are severely damaged.
‘It’s a very sad situation because what was already achieved and celebrated maybe wasn’t real, and what wasn’t so good could have been better.
‘We have lived through a period where sporting justice did not exist. If the charges are proven, it’s very difficult to repair what happened. I hope that at least it serves to ensure equality exists in the future.
‘I said at the time regarding Chelsea’s situation when we fought for the title with them while I was at Tottenham, that they were better because they got more points, but by breaking rules. How do you repair that?’
In total, Tottenham missed out on lucrative Champions League qualification four times during the years covered by Man City’s charges.
Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano (left) has warned their fight against the Premier League will take ‘a lot more time’ to conclude
Tottenham finished fifth in 2010-11, 2012-13 and 2014-15, while they finished fourth in 2011-12 but missed out on qualification because Chelsea won the competition despite finishing sixth.
Spurs are among four clubs – along with Arsenal, Liverpool and Man United – who served legal notices last year reserving their right to take action should City be found guilty.
They will argue, should the verdict stand, that City’s misdemeanours cost them titles, trophies, European qualification and, above all when it comes to these things, money.
Representatives have already begun putting together a case on how much they feel they have a claim for, pointing out that they have lost potential income on the back of City’s cheating.
Despite news of the independent commission siding with the Premier League, Man City chief executive Ferran Soriano has warned their fight will still take ‘a lot more time’ to conclude.
Soriano was at a private meeting with the executive board of European Football Clubs’ body along with other bosses of top clubs and, according to sources, was quick to address the elephant in the room.
‘It’s taken eight years to get here,’ Soriano told the assembled club chiefs, ‘and it’s going to take a lot more time’.
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said in a statement on Saturday: ‘The process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began.’
An appeal from City’s expensively assembled legal team is viewed as an inevitability. They have 14 days to lodge such a request which would be heard by a separate panel.
A wide range of punishments, including expulsion, are available under Premier League rules. The original panel would take arguments from both sides before deciding on a penalty it feels befits the crime.
