Man City rivals ‘left raging’ by Pep Guardiola press conference rant

Manchester City’s rivals believe that Pep Guardiola’s passionate rant in Friday’s press conference may be libellous after the Spaniard name-checked eight clubs whom he said are lobbying against the defending Premier League champions, according to reports. He also singled out Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy as he issued a staunch defence of City’s decision-makers, who have been accused of more than 100 breaches of Financial Fair Play regulations over a 14-year period.

Several club executives have strongly denied pushing the Premier League to take action against City, pointing out that the issuing of charges on Monday followed a four-year investigation in which they played no part, according to the Daily Mail. It is also said that Levy has received messages of support from a number of clubs in response to the claims made by Guardiola.

The City manager’s assessment of the situation drew plenty of ire from across the Premier League, not least because it came just a day after club executive Ferran Soriano was spotted shaking hands with other bigwigs at a meeting in London. This reportedly went down badly among other members of the top flight given the nature of the allegations made against City earlier this week.

The one-time Champions League finalists have already started to build an all-star legal team in preparation for their case to be heard by an independent commission, with City adamant that no wrongdoing has ever taken place. They are said to have appointed top lawyer Lord Pannick KC, who previously advised former prime minister Boris Johnson over the Partygate scandal, to defend them against the charges levelled by the Premier League on Monday.

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Pannick fought in City’s corner back in 2020 when they were initially found guilty of financial breaches by UEFA before the case was eventually overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport following a successful appeal. It remains to be seen whether Pannick will be able to keep City out of trouble once again when proceedings get underway, although it seems likely that a verdict on the latest set of allegations will not be reached for quite some time.

Sports lawyer Catherine Forshaw recently warned that the disciplinary proceedings brought by the Premier League against City could take at least two years to establish a solid conclusion, which suggests that no concrete answers will be given for the foreseeable future.

“What it means for Man City is uncharted territory,” said Forshaw. “Both sides have lawyered up very heavily. Lord Pannick, you look at the figures he will be charging, it’s absolutely eye-watering, I think his brief fee alone is £800,000.

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“Then you’ve got the Blackstone team for the Premier League and Adam Lewis KC, I know him personally and he’s absolutely fantastic, but this is by no means going to be a quick resolution. It could rumble on for a year, two years. It comes down to the fact there are 115 charges, each of which will have its own evidence that will need to be addressed in isolation.

“Once the committee is convened it will set out a timetable that will be agreed with the Premier League and the club. They will sit down, look at the timetable, agree it.

“Both parties will be given an opportunity to compile their evidence, speak to witnesses, experts in the industry, leading experts around the rules and regs. Then it will be a case of disclosing that evidence, looking at the evidence from the other parties and having a chance to respond to it.”

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