Enzo Maresca makes confident claim over Man City guilty verdict | Football

Enzo Maresca insisted he is confident that Manchester City will win its appeal against their guilty verdict for breaking Premier League financial rules.

Maresca was speaking to the press for the first time since City were found guilty of 114 charges related to financial misconduct and obstructing the independent commission’s investigation.

City have denied all the charges and launched a formal appeal, but could face huge sanctions ranging from points deductions, expulsion from the Premier League and being stripped of the titles they won during the period from 2009-10 to 2017-18.

But Maresca, who returned to the club this summer to replace Pep Guardiola as manager, says he maintains full trust in the club and is confident their innocence will be proven.

‘First of all I trust the club because I trust the people,’ Maresca said. ‘So that is why I joined the club.

‘And then there is not another club where I would try to be. So I’m very happy to be here, I’m very proud since day one. So this is myself

‘I spoke with the club, for sure. We all trust. The right moment to speak about that is when we win that appeal.’

Maresca worked under Guardiola when City won the treble in 2022-23, but the Italian rejected the notion that any of the club’s achievements had been tainted by the recent verdict.

‘Absolutely not,’ he said. ‘The last time I was here was the treble season. I know the effort from the players, from the club, from the manager in that time, that was Pep.

‘So I know exactly the effort that the club put to achieve that kind of target. So I don’t have any doubt about that.’

Maresca confirmed that he had not spoken to Guardiola since the win over Manchester United, and also insisted he would have taken the job even had he known about the charges.

‘100 per cent,’ he replied. ‘I know the organisation from years ago. I know how serious they are. They do the right things. I would like to speak about this when we win the appeal.

‘To be honest. We didn’t speak about that,’ he added when asked whether he spoke to City about the charges before taking the job.

‘That wasn’t a problem for the club at the time because they are speaking in an honest way. They are convinced in the end that they are going to win the appeal.’

City can expect a hostile environment for their first game back after the verdict when they travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on Sunday.

‘I know that Anfield is a nice pitch, probably will even more warm in terms of environment but the reason I decide to become manager is for this kind of game,’ he said.

‘It will be a tough game, tough test, but we need to be ready. The focus has to be about the team, it may be even worse because of the situation. They can absolutely face the pressure; we have players who have faced similar.’

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