Manchester City head coach Enzo Maresca has dismissed concerns regarding the club’s legal troubles, asserting that both he and his squad remain entirely committed to their footballing obligations. The team faces a potential points deduction or even expulsion from the Premier League after an independent commission ruled that they utilized fraudulent commercial agreements to inflate revenue and reduce costs by more than £900 million between 2009 and 2018.
City currently sit at the summit of the English top flight with five consecutive victories. They return to competitive action this Sunday when they travel to face Liverpool, having not played since the guilty verdict was made public. This marks their first away game since the announcement, followed by a home fixture on Wednesday against Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning back-to-back UEFA Champions League champions.
Speaking to the club’s official media channel on Thursday, Maresca emphasized the calm atmosphere within the camp. “I am very calm, the club has been quite calm. We trust completely the club,” he stated. “We understand the noise, but the focus for us is what we control and we control the football side. The feeling is fantastic, to be honest.”
Maresca, who previously served as Pep Guardiola’s assistant during the historic 2022-2023 treble-winning campaign, addressed the team upon their return to training after the international break. With several players rumored to be considering moves away from the club should their appeal fail, questions arose about squad morale. Maresca responded that the players are “excited” by their strong start to the season and remain focused on maintaining their lead at the top of the table.
“They know that what we can control is the football side. They are not worried at all about different things. They know they are professionals,” Maresca said. “They are just focused on this moment, how we can beat Liverpool, how we can, together with the fans, try to win at Anfield.”
Manchester City continues to assert its innocence as part of its ongoing appeal, arguing that the commission’s findings contain significant material errors and that the club holds evidence to support its case. Additionally, the club was found guilty of failing to cooperate fully with the investigation.
On the pitch, defending champions Arsenal begin their weekend campaign on Saturday against Leeds United. A victory would see Arsenal level on points with City, though Manchester City would retain the advantage of having a game in hand.
Does anyone else find it weird that players aren’t worried about potential transfers? That seems unrealistic to me.
Arsenal fans are probably smiling right now. One win and we’re level on points.
Fraudulent revenue inflation? That’s serious. I’m skeptical this calm attitude will last if the points are deducted.
I hope they stay focused. Anfield is a different beast, regardless of the boardroom drama.