By Adegboyega Adeleye
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has said he would throw his Manchester City medals “in the bin” if he were a player at the club following its guilty verdict over breaches of Premier League financial rules.
The Premier League on Tuesday confirmed that Manchester City were found guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of its financial rules over a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018.
The independent commission found that City had used “sham” contracts with commercial partners to secretly funnel more than £830m into their football operations during the period.
City, who continue to deny any wrongdoing, won eight trophies, including three Premier League titles, during the period covered by the charges.
Reacting to the verdict, Keane said the achievements of players who won those trophies had been undermined by the financial breaches.
“If I was a player, I’d be 100% sticking those medals in the bin. Of course you would, it’s cheating,” Keane told ITV Sport ahead of England’s match against the Czech Republic.
“They won it on the pitch because cheating was going on.”
Keane added: “They knew it would hurt a lot of people, but they’ve still done it.”
City have not yet been sanctioned, with the Premier League expected to determine the punishment separately. The club also has until Friday, October 2, to appeal the independent commission’s findings.
One possible sanction could involve the removal of Premier League titles, although no decision has been made.
City have won the Premier League eight times since Sheikh Mansour’s takeover in 2009, with three of those titles coming during the period covered by the financial charges.
Former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney, however, said he would not want his former club to receive a Premier League title retrospectively if one of City’s titles were removed.
Rooney was part of the United team that finished runners-up to City in the 2011-12 season but said he would not feel comfortable receiving a medal years later.
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable about accepting another Premier League medal if I’m being honest, because I don’t think we deserve it. We didn’t do enough that season to win the league,” Rooney said on the Stick to United podcast.
“I’m thinking as their players, they’re there doing everything they can to win the Premier League title and in their minds they’ve done it.
“And, if those players have got no understanding of what’s going on above them, then if that happened to me – if all of a sudden Manchester United have been doing the same and I’m getting my Premier League medals taken away from me – I’d be absolutely devastated.”
Rooney added that while he would not want United to be handed the title, he believed City could face relegation as part of any eventual punishment.
“I do think we’re going to see City getting relegated,” the former England captain said.
“However that happens I don’t know but I think we’re going to see them get relegated.”
Rooney also suggested that City could face a severe points deduction and restrictions on spending if the Premier League imposes a major sporting sanction.
“I’d put them in the lowest league they can go in and then put restrictions on them in terms of how much money they can spend for the next three or four seasons,” he said.
Meanwhile, former Tottenham and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino said the verdict had exposed a period in which sporting fairness was undermined.
“It’s done a lot of damage. Many clubs followed the rules and some didn’t,” Pochettino said.
“It’s a huge sadness. We get into a situation where what got celebrated wasn’t that real, what seemed good maybe wasn’t so good.”
Pochettino, who managed Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea during the period covered by City’s charges, also questioned the consistency of Premier League financial controls.
“Where were the controls?” he asked.
“I remember being at Southampton, then Tottenham – I remember building [the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium] and not having the economic possibility of a transfer for 18 months.”
Pochettino said Tottenham had been subjected to strict financial controls while competing against clubs with greater spending power.
La Liga president Javier Tebas also called for the most severe sanction available under Premier League rules.
“In my opinion, the most severe sanction provided for under the Premier League regulations should be applied,” Tebas told BBC Sport.
“Given the number of years involved, the repeated breaches, the denial and the lack of co-operation, the most severe sanction allowed under the Premier League rules is what should be imposed, although I do not know exactly what that sanction would be.”
City were charged by the Premier League in February 2023 following a four-year investigation. The case was subsequently referred to an independent commission, whose behind-closed-doors hearing began in September 2024 and lasted about 12 weeks.
The commission has now found City guilty of the financial breaches, while the club retains the right to appeal the decision before any final sporting sanction is imposed.
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