Carragher aims dig at Man City as chair comments backfire amid financial charges

06 February 2023 , 13:58

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Jamie Carragher has made light of Manchester City's situation (Image: PA)

Jamie Carragher has sarcastically responded to Manchester City's alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules by recalling their chair's "unprecedented" comments.

The Premier League have charged City with more than 100 alleged breaches of its financial rules between 2009 and 2018 after a four-year investigation. The reigning champions are now set for a long and brutal legal battle and serious punishments, if found guilty.

The news comes just three months after City posted the second highest turnover in English football history at £613million - eclipsing the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool. City's chair Khaldoon Al Mubarak claimed the club had "set the benchmarks for overs".

Carragher responded to the news of City's alleged breaches shortly after it broke on Monday morning. He tweeted: "This can't be right, Man City bring in more commercial revenue than Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Man Utd and Liverpool."

Although Carragher did not specifically reference Mubarak's comments or City's turnover, it is believed the tweet was in regards to that. Mubarak has been City's chair since Sheikh Mansour completed a takeover in 2008, thus starting their journey to the top.

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City were transformed once Mansour's billions poured into the club. They have since assembled several expensive squads and become a force in English football - winning six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, six Carabao Cups and three Community Shields.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak lauded Manchester City's financial success just three months ago (Getty Images)

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Yet City did not immediately become a commercially-viable club due to the historical success of their rivals, including Man Utd and Liverpool. That has led many critics to question whether their expenditure has always been in line with Financial Fair Play.

City attempted to quash these doubts by announcing their record turnover in November. They have now been accused of not providing "accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club's financial position" - casting doubt over their books.

Speaking in November, Mubarak said: "If we are to be true to the efforts of all those people that have contributed over the last 14 years to deliver our current successes, we must challenge ourselves to question everything we accept as optimal, and to define new and unprecedented goals and the right strategies to achieve them.

Manchester City recorded huge revenue figures just three months ago (PA)

"This is the task that Sheikh Mansour, our shareholders and the board have set our management team. In doing so we recognise the fundamental truth that continuously delivering football success for our fans will also continue to create value for our shareholders."

Mubarak added: "In 2008, we gave ourselves the target of exceeding the benchmarks that had been set by others within football, and in doing so, to also exceed the new standards that we believed leading clubs would achieve in the time it would take us to catch up.

"Our aim was clear – to one day be the club that set the benchmark for others. The statistics and results show that in many ways we are beginning to achieve our long-term ambition."

City were accused of inflating a sponsorship deal by German newspaper Der Spiegel in 2018, which led to UEFA and the Premier League launching investigations. UEFA gave City a two-year ban from European competitions in 2020 after they were found guilty.

That ban was eventually overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on appeal. Yet City will not be able to appeal any sanction with CAS under the Premier League's rules.

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City said they were "surprised" by the Premier League's allegations and claimed there was "extensive engagement" between the two parties. They insisted the Premier League were "provided with" a "vast amount of detailed materials".

City added: "The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position. As such we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all."

Tom Blow