Jesse Marsch: 'Everyone Knew About Man City's Cheating'

· GiveMeSport

Former Leeds United, and current Canada boss, Jesse Marsch claims 'everyone knew' about Man City's Premier League cheating

In groundbreaking news, an independent Commission has found Manchester City guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules. The verdict has sent shockwaves through the football world.

Man City have appealed the decision, but if that is unsuccessful, they will likely face unprecedented sanctions. Many feel as though the club should be stripped of any Premier League titles won between 2009 and 2018, and there is also talk that they could be relegated from the English top flight.

The controversy raises so many questions. Essentially, every team that has competed with City since 2009 can reasonably claim doubt over the fairness of those games. After all, the Premier League have stated that the Etihad outfit built their squad by using ‘sham’ contracts to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs.

With that in mind, one former Premier League manager has given a very honest take on the matter.

Jesse Marsch – current Canada head coach – took charge of Leeds United in February 2022. He was sacked one year later, and the Whites were later relegated from the Premier League.

In that final season, Leeds lost to Man City both home and away, costing them six points. They were relegated, missing safety by five points. Although that campaign is not one of the 'sham' seasons – from 2009 to 2018 – in which the club have been found guilty of breaking the rules, Marsch has still claimed 'everyone knew' City were cheating.

Speaking to the Guardian, he said:

> “I think Man City should be punished severely. I think they should have to go down, and by the way, everyone knew about it. Everyone knew."

He pointed out that Everton and Nottingham Forest were deducted points for issues in the same season when Leeds were relegated, finishing below both, before adding:

> “That summer [2022], us and Man City were the only teams that said we made money. For us, we did make money, because we sold Raphinha, we sold Kalvin Phillips [to City]. We had a lot left over from what we bought. At the time, we weren’t in a position financially to not save. Our ownership didn’t have deep pockets."

He then claimed that he thought Man City's business of the era was 'some kind of joke.'

As mentioned before, City have only been found guilty of breaking rules between 2009 to 2018. Despite that, Marsch has questioned the validity of their transfer activity in the following years.

In May 2022, just months after the Leeds manager had taken charge at Elland Road, Man City announced they had reached a deal to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund. Despite the striker being one of the brightest talents in the world, his transfer fee was set at just £52m.

Recalling the deal with incredulity, Marsch said:

> “When they said they got Erling Haaland for £52m, it’s like: ‘Yeah, OK, sure!’ So, I knew there were inconsistencies in it, but what can you do? You just put your arms in the air and go, ‘This is football’.”

It's worth noting that Haaland had a release clause in his Dortmund contract set at that price, which explains why he cost just £52m (€60m).

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