Pochettino: Manchester City verdicts show fans ‘lived through an era of deception’

Mauricio Pochettino was in charge of Southampton, Tottenham, and Chelsea as Manchester City rose to the Premier League elite. Photograph: Taylor Banner/USSF/Getty Images US men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino expressed dismay at news of Manchester City being found guilty of widespread financial improprieties on Monday, saying that fans “lived through a period of deception” because of City’s alleged financial impropriety. The Guardian and other outlets have reported that Manchester City have been found guilty by the Premier League of violating the vast majority of 115 different charges concerning violations of financial rules between 2009 and 2018. Pochettino was the manager of Tottenham Hotspur for five seasons, from 2014 to 2019, and of Southampton before that from 2013 to 2014. He also took charge of Chelsea for a single season in 2023-24. Related: Manchester City verdict: what happens next, will club appeal and could they be relegated? “Where were the controls?” Pochettino said in Spanish, when asked by the Guardian for his thoughts on the guilty verdicts. “That’s what gets my attention. Where were the controls? If 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. I think we were the only team in the history of the Premier League with 18 months without [making a transfer]. If a team like us, Tottenham, was fighting for titles with those above us and every year in the top four, getting to the semi-finals of Champions League without being able to do a transfer for 18 months, all because we needed to get used to the [Premier League financial controls]? They were so strict with us but also so lenient with others. Because of that, that’s why I say: it’s all very strange.” Manchester City’s issues started when a 2018 investigation by German paper Der Spiegel showed potential financial improprieties, citing leaked internal documents, outlining a host of potential violations occurring over a ten-year span between 2008 and 2018. Related: Manchester City timeline: trophies, transfers and more than 100 charges City – who have always denied the allegations – were subsequently charged by the Premier League in 2023 of falsifying details of their finances, with some of those issues centering around payments to players and coaches. They have also been accused of violating Uefa’s financial fair play regulations, and the Premier League’s own Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSRs). Uefa made an attempt at disciplining City in 2020, banning the club from Uefa-sanctioned competition like the Champions League and fining them €30m. That punishment was later overturned by the Court for Arbitration of Sport; some of the violations, they said, occurred too long ago to be punished and others weren’t adequately proven. City are widely expected to appeal against the Premier League’s verdicts in the next two weeks and the ensuing legal proceedings could drag out for an extended period. When asked what he feels a potential punishment should be, Pochettino again expressed his disappointment at the overall situation. Related: Everything you need to know about Manchester City’s hearing and charges “Whatever punishment [they choose], it’s impossible to turn back time,” he said. “It’s done a lot of damage, more than anything the guidelines. At the end of the day many clubs followed the rules and some didn’t. Maybe they thought that the punishment [wouldn’t come for a lot of years] – what are they going to do? An economic punishment? Docking points? It’s really hard. “It’s sad,” Pochettino continued. “It is a huge sadness. At the end of the day we get into a situation where what got celebrated wasn’t that real, what seemed good maybe wasn’t so good, what didn’t look good maybe was good but couldn’t be good because of what happened. At the end of the day, we went through something where sporting fairness didn’t exist. So, how do you repair everything that was damaged because of that, if it’s true all of the 114 rules that were broken, we’ve lived through a period of deception.” Last week, Pochettino offered his thoughts on the punishment handed down to Chelsea, who were found guilty of similar violations on a much smaller scale. Chelsea were Premier League champions in 2016-17, with Pochettino’s Spurs finishing in second place. The club was later fined heavily by the Premier for undisclosed payments to players, coaches and other involved parties. The club was also hit with a nine-month academy transfer ban. Related: Rodri insists Manchester City ‘deserved’ success despite FFP guilty verdict “We should win one title, one Premier League,” Pochettino told UK-based media last week, “They were punished, they admitted, so that’s it? The title should be for the team that was second … It’s true that we didn’t compete with the same rules. OK, now we can say that they scored goals, they won games, and like this. OK, that’s it, but it’s completely fair to say that we didn’t compete before the start of the season with the same card.” “Maybe with the same rules, if we apply the same things, maybe we could’ve signed some players that would have made the team better or scored more goals,” said Pochettino. “It’s not me complaining. It’s the truth. If they admitted they broke the rules, the Premier League title was for the second best team.” After the match with Chile, the US will face Mexico on 3 October and Canada on 6 October in Phoenix, Arizona and St Paul, Minnesota, respectively.