Mauricio Pochettino, head coach of the US men’s national team, has condemned Manchester City’s widespread financial rule breaches, saying fans “lived through a period of deception” because of the club’s violations.
Pochettino, who managed Tottenham and Southampton in the Premier League, questioned why controls allowed City to operate so differently from their rivals. “They were so strict with us but also so lenient with others,” he told The Guardian. “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 financial controls—that’s why I say: it’s all very strange.”
On potential punishment, Pochettino argued the damage is already done. “Whatever punishment they choose, it’s impossible to turn back time,” he said. “It’s really hard. An economic punishment? Docking points? How do you repair everything that was damaged because of that?” He added: “We went through something where sporting fairness didn’t exist.”
Sources
Written by PremClub News with the help of AI, using only facts from the reports listed on this page. How we rate stories · Editorial policy