Pep Guardiola launched an extraordinarily defiant defence of Manchester City in the wake of an unprecedented number of Premier League charges for alleged financial breaches.

City could lie eight points behind Arsenal by the time they host Aston Villa on Sunday but the title race took a back seat as Guardiola spoke for the first time since the champions were charged with more than 100 offences.

The 52-year-old has history of fiercely backing City to the hilt and nobody was safe from his ire on Friday. During an emotional 20-minute press conference, Guardiola:

• Accused the other 19 Premier League clubs of driving the charges in a witch hunt against City, naming Tottenham’s Daniel Levy
• Claimed that they are already condemned before an independent commission has sat
• Named the nine clubs who lobbying the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to uphold a two-year European ban before it was heard in 2020
• Sent a warning to others that they have opened a can of worms over football finance

Pledged his future to City, insisting that the club are more confident of beating the Premier League’s allegations than they were against UEFA

The Premier League have a wide range of sanctions available were City to be found guilty by a three-person independent commission, including expulsion or a points deduction.

Guardiola – who referenced innocence on 10 separate occasions – was angry that the court of public opinion has already passed judgement on City, even if legal experts have this week predicted the case could take up to four years.

‘My first thought is that we are already being condemned,’ he said. ‘What has happened this week is the same as what happened with UEFA. With UEFA we were condemned.

‘We are lucky we live in a marvellous country where we have a society where everyone is innocent until proven guilty. We didn’t have this opportunity. We are already sentenced and “tough”.

‘I’m fully convinced that we will be innocent, and then what will happen next? Will it stop now?’

Guardiola and his players met with senior staff, including chief executive Ferran Soriano, at the club’s training base hours after the Premier League’s bombshell announcement on Monday. He has full confidence that the club will be exonerated and suggested that jealousy around their recent achievements – City have won six titles since 2012 – has contributed to sniping by rivals.

‘They told me before they defend the accusation from UEFA, the club proved we were completely innocent, why should we not think [that] right now when we are being condemned from charges and suggestions?

‘Just in case we are not innocent we will accept what the judge in the Premier League decides, but what happens if in the same situation as UEFA? If we are innocent who is going to come back and return our damage? The damage is now for one decade

‘We are not part of the establishment of this league but at the same time I understand they can do it [accuse] but let us defend ourselves please. So that’s all.

‘They have opened a precedent right now, what they have done to us. Be careful, because in the future many clubs can make suggestions and there are a lot of clubs that can be accused like we are being accused without maybe being innocent.

‘After if we did something wrong, which I don’t think is going to happen, we accept it. I said the same before with [the] UEFA [case] – I rely on them 100 per cent. Why should my players be distracted? I’m confident in my players.’

City remain sore at the collection of rivals who joined forces in a letter to CAS, sent in March 2020, objecting to any attempt by City to stay the penalty during an ultimately successful appeal process.

‘One week after UEFA made a statement against us, nine teams – Burnley, Wolves, Leicester, Newcastle, Spurs, Arsenal, [Manchester] United, Liverpool, Chelsea – wrote wanting us out of the Champions League.

‘Like Julius Caesar, they are not in this world, they are not enemies or friends, just interests. They wanted to put it out to take that position that we won on the pitch, take it in our position. Now it is not different, absolutely zero.

‘Personally, I am happy we are here. I think we have good lawyers, but we can’t say UEFA had bad, bad lawyers. I think the Premier League, supported by 19 teams to put it out for them, will have good lawyers too to defend their position.’

Asked whether the charges were driven by the other clubs, Guardiola responded: ‘Yes of course. Nineteen teams are accusing us. You’ll have to go to the CEOs, [Tottenham’s] Daniel Levy, and ask them.’

The Catalan, in his seventh season at the Etihad Stadium, committed his future to the club. He had said last May that he would walk if the club were found to have lied to him about their innocence.

‘Hopefully the reason they are going to sack me is the results,’ he said. ‘But I am not moving from this seat. I can assure you, more than ever that I want to stay. Sometimes I’ve had doubts, seven years already is a long time in any country.

‘Now I don’t want to move. Not because people say they lied to you Pep. They didn’t lie to me. Why should I not trust my people? Why should I trust the CEOs or the owners of the 19 clubs? No, I trust my people.

‘I would say they [the board] are more confident, maybe they have more experience and more information. They have a lot of pages that they present to UEFA that they will now introduce against the Premier League.

‘It’s the same articles, the same accusations, the same everything. We have to be out of the Champions League, now we have to go to League Two or maybe the Conference.

‘We are not a team with a long history or titles, we have been in the lower divisions and we will be back there. It’s not a problem. We’ll get Paul Dickov and Mike Summerbee and we will do a good process and we will be back.’

SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk