Former Manchester City defender, Micah Richards, has described the Premier League’s guilty verdict against the club over financial rule breaches as “absolutely devastating”.
An independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, as well as the majority of charges relating to the club’s failure to co-operate with the investigation.
The commission found that City had arranged “sham” contracts with commercial partners as part of a scheme to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs. The Premier League said the arrangements involved more than £830m in disguised funding.
City continue to deny wrongdoing and have until October 2 to appeal the verdict.
Richards, who came through City’s academy and was part of the squad that won the club’s first Premier League title in 2011-12, said he was deeply affected by the findings.
“The reports were troubling,” he said on The Rest is Football podcast.
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“I saw the words which were used by the Premier League in ‘sham contracts’ and I felt absolutely devastated.
“I was at that club since I was 14 years old, I would die for that club. I achieved my dream at Manchester City, but then to hear these reports, and not only me as an ex-player, but the fans, what they have to go through, absolutely devastating.”
Richards said the uncertainty had also affected people close to the club, recalling a phone call from the family he lived with while progressing through City’s academy.
“My digs man, he rang me and he was literally in tears and asking me about information, which I don’t know. I haven’t got the answers to tell him,” he said.
“That’s someone who’s supported the club for 60-odd years and the uncertainty around it is just heartbreaking.”
Richards added that the verdict had left him with mixed emotions.
“To have a headline of this nature for a club that I love so much, it’s been difficult. If you listen to the reports, they are damning.
“I feel saddened, I feel angry, I feel a little bit confused because, on the other side, you have City’s side of the story.”
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has maintained that the club remains confident of proving its innocence, while chief executive Ferran Soriano told staff and players that “irrefutable evidence” had been ignored by the commission.
The verdict relates to a nine-season period during which City won three Premier League titles, including the dramatic 2011-12 triumph in which Richards was part of the title-winning squad.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher also said he felt for the players involved, arguing that the verdict could leave a lasting cloud over their achievements.
“I feel for the players… they’ll almost feel like a lot of their career is going to have an asterisk, or a lot of people will be calling it a sham,” Carragher said.
Carragher also argued that City’s titles should be removed, while distinguishing that issue from whether other clubs should subsequently receive them.
The independent commission’s verdict does not itself determine any sanctions. City’s appeal process is expected to determine what happens next.
