Pep Guardiola 'will move mountains' to get Man City answer with his legacy in doubt

· Mirror

Manchester City's recent guilty verdict has tainted their success under Pep Guardiola with the Catalan's former team-mate admitting he'll be frustrated by that perception

Pep Guardiola will not want people "questioning everything he's achieved" at Manchester City after the club were found guilty by an independent commission.

The Premier League giants were guilty of 114 charges that were levelled against them, which has tainted all of their achievements over the past decade and a half.

The period of wrongdoing began in the 2009/10 season and last up until 2017/18, which was the end of Guardiola's second season where he led City to the title with 100 points - which remains a top-flight record.

In the years that followed, City continued to dominate, winning the treble and breaking more records, but with a team that was assembled during the period whereby they were inflating their revenue, which has cast a shadow over their recent achievements.

Guardiola's former team-mate at Brescia, Stephen Appiah, insists that will not sit well with the Catalan, who will be desperately seeking answers in light of the verdict.

> He Told The Sun: “I think people underestimate how intense Pep is. He’s a straightforward person. At least when we were at Brescia, he was always with me and Roberto Baggio, he’d follow us everywhere. He’s somebody who, when there is an issue, wants to solve the issue there and then. He doesn’t like living with a bad feeling.

> “When something happens around the team, even when we didn’t get results, you could see that it got to him. So I know all these things that are happening around Man City, the moment he walks out of the door, I know he’s feeling it. It’s not going to be easy for him.

> “And as we know, he’s a very passionate person, so he won’t be happy with people questioning what he’s done in the game and everything he achieved. Given how I know him from our time together, he will be moving mountains trying to get to the bottom of these issues once and for all.”

When the charges were hanging over City Guardiola, when questioned, constantly maintained that the club were innocent and he backed the club's hierarchy, who were adamant they'd done nothing wrong and have appealed the decision.

Guardiola called time on his City decade this summer, with the timing itself raising suspicion, and has spoken since the guilty verdict, saying: "I want every single Manchester City fan across the world to know I am here; more than ever," he wrote in a social media post.

> "I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran [Soriano], the players, staff, [manager] Enzo [Maresca] and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all."

Read the original

People in this story

Related