CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCHES at this stage of the season between the elite sides are glorified friendlies.
There is virtually no chance that Man City or PSG will not progress to the competition’s knockout stages.
The fact that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – widely regarded as one of the best players in the world – started the game on the bench was an indication of how seriously the French champions were treating the match.
Yet how the holders comprehensively outplayed their English rivals, particularly as they stormed to a 3-0 first-half lead, felt significant, even if the hosts threatened an unlikely comeback after the break.
It was a reminder of the difference in class between them and other elite sides.
How PSG made a team that has won all six of their Premier League games this season look so ordinary – for the opening 45 minutes at least – is a testament to how special Luis Enrique’s side are.
Not for the first time, the Ligue 1 outfit were operating on another level, and Arsenal’s ultra-defensive approach in last season’s final seems more explicable. City found out what happens when you try to go toe to toe with the best club side in the world.
There was something symbolic too about Pep Guardiola watching from above.
Enzo Maresca may be the manager, but it is still largely the Catalan coach’s team – only two of 11 starting players for City were recruited in the post-Guardiola era (Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernández).
Spanish journalist Guillem Balague reported that Guardiola “wanted to make sure to be part of today”.
The timing felt important. It is the Etihad outfit’s first home game since it was announced that the club had been found guilty of all charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules between 2009-10 and 2017-18 by an independent commission.
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak celebrate with the Champions League trophy in June 2023. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
It should be stressed that the charges only cover the first two seasons of Guardiola’s 10-year spell at the club.
But it is hard to imagine the coach winning 20 trophies – including six Premier Leagues and the Champions League – had that enviable foundation not been established.
Guardiola also enjoyed great success at two other clubs that enjoy significant financial advantages over most of their competitors – Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
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And there is no doubt that his achievements in La Liga and the Bundesliga and his innovative tactics changed the course of football irrevocably.
But there is, and perhaps always will be, an asterisk around his time at City. Even if the club avoid significant punishment or win the case on appeal, there is so much damning evidence against them. The scepticism will be hard to shake.
Guardiola has taken some admirable stances in the past. Not too many managers would be brave enough to speak on topics like the genocide in Gaza, or the Catalan independence movement, but the 55-year-old has attempted to raise awareness of both.
However, the way the former Spain international has steadfastly defended City’s owners risks substantially harming his credibility.
Guardiola’s statement in the wake of the guilty verdict was in keeping with previous comments.
“I want every single @ManCity fan to know I am here; more than ever,” he said on X. “I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran, the players, staff, Enzo and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all.”
Guardiola previously reacted angrily to suggestions he had received undeclared payments from the club, after the Football Leaks website suggested ex-City boss Roberto Mancini was paid in such a way – a claim that the current Italy manager recently appeared to confirm.
“Do you know the question you’re asking me?” Guardiola said in response to the question in the wake of their 2019 FA Cup final victory over Watford.
“Did I receive money for another situation, right now, today? Honestly, do you think I deserve to have this type of question, the day we won the treble… did I receive money? Are you accusing me of receiving money?
“I listen to my chairman and my CEO, and I trust them. They tell me we are fair and we absolutely follow the rules. I believe them.”
Guardiola has struck a similarly defiant tone in subsequent years.
“I trust the club 100%,” he said after Uefa found City guilty of breaking their Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, resulting in a ban from European competition for two years that was eventually overturned on appeal.
In July 2020, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport declared that some of the more serious charges were either unproven or that too much time had passed to pass judgment, Guardiola responded: “The people say we cheated and were lying – and many times.”
When pressed on the veracity of the claims again in May 2022, Guardiola insisted he would resign as manager if City were found guilty and promised to distance himself from the club should such a controversy be proven.
“I said to them: ‘If you lie to [the club's hierarchy], the day after I am not here. I will be out, and I will not be your friend any more. I put my faith in you because I believe you 100% from day one, and I defend the club because of that.’”
When the 115 Premier League charges first came to light, Guardiola said: ”Just in case we are not innocent we will accept what the judge in the Premier League decides, but what happens if in the same situation that Uefa happened we are innocent – what happens to restore or pay back our damage?”
The manager continued to double down over the course of the three-and-a-half-year process.
“You are questioning like we have been punished. And in the moment, we are innocent until guilt is proved,” he said in November 2023.
“I know the people want it. I know, I feel it. I will wait. Wait and see it and after the sentence has been done we will come here and explain it.
“There is more chance [for me] to stay if we are in League One than if we were in the Champions League.”
He also vowed to hold a media conference in response to the verdict – a promise he has not yet fulfilled.
As the legal hearing approached in August 2024, he added: ”I am happy that it starts soon and hopefully it will finish soon. We will accept [the verdict], like we have always done.”
The following month, Guardiola took aim at what he saw as the schadenfreude of City’s critics.
“I know what people are looking for. I know what they are expecting – I know it because I have read it for many years.
“Everyone is innocent until guilt is proven. It’s like everyone doesn’t expect us to be not just relegated, they want us to disappear off the face of the earth.”
Guardiola continued to back the City owners up to the day he stepped down as manager, and pictures of tonight of him tonight in the directors’ box with figures like club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and chief executive Ferran Soriano suggest nothing has changed in that regard.
It is easy to understand, if not necessarily justify, Guardiola’s behaviour.
He has dedicated a decade of his life to this project.
The ex-Barcelona star is also a notorious football obsessive.
Few people treat the game as seriously as he does or think about it with such depth, intensity and rigour.
Pep Guardiola gets emotional after 2-0 defeat against Juventus and tells the team about his divorce with his wife.
“In your life, whatever you’re going to do, do it with passion.” https://t.co/ckKZNjEv4d
In a recent documentary, he gave a sense of the toll it had taken on his life, citing a divorce from his wife as an example.
Most people want to believe their work has meaning.
Guardiola has no doubt suffered immensely to attain the privileged status he enjoys in football.
The implication that the 10 years of blood, sweat and tears he has shed on this painstaking journey is based on fraudulence and therefore should be discredited is not an easy accusation to accept.
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Has Pep Guardiola's legacy been tainted?
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCHES at this stage of the season between the elite sides are glorified friendlies.
There is virtually no chance that Man City or PSG will not progress to the competition’s knockout stages.
The fact that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – widely regarded as one of the best players in the world – started the game on the bench was an indication of how seriously the French champions were treating the match.
Yet how the holders comprehensively outplayed their English rivals, particularly as they stormed to a 3-0 first-half lead, felt significant, even if the hosts threatened an unlikely comeback after the break.
It was a reminder of the difference in class between them and other elite sides.
How PSG made a team that has won all six of their Premier League games this season look so ordinary – for the opening 45 minutes at least – is a testament to how special Luis Enrique’s side are.
Not for the first time, the Ligue 1 outfit were operating on another level, and Arsenal’s ultra-defensive approach in last season’s final seems more explicable. City found out what happens when you try to go toe to toe with the best club side in the world.
There was something symbolic too about Pep Guardiola watching from above.
Enzo Maresca may be the manager, but it is still largely the Catalan coach’s team – only two of 11 starting players for City were recruited in the post-Guardiola era (Elliot Anderson and Enzo Fernández).
Spanish journalist Guillem Balague reported that Guardiola “wanted to make sure to be part of today”.
The timing felt important. It is the Etihad outfit’s first home game since it was announced that the club had been found guilty of all charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules between 2009-10 and 2017-18 by an independent commission.
It should be stressed that the charges only cover the first two seasons of Guardiola’s 10-year spell at the club.
But it is hard to imagine the coach winning 20 trophies – including six Premier Leagues and the Champions League – had that enviable foundation not been established.
Guardiola also enjoyed great success at two other clubs that enjoy significant financial advantages over most of their competitors – Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
And there is no doubt that his achievements in La Liga and the Bundesliga and his innovative tactics changed the course of football irrevocably.
But there is, and perhaps always will be, an asterisk around his time at City. Even if the club avoid significant punishment or win the case on appeal, there is so much damning evidence against them. The scepticism will be hard to shake.
Guardiola has taken some admirable stances in the past. Not too many managers would be brave enough to speak on topics like the genocide in Gaza, or the Catalan independence movement, but the 55-year-old has attempted to raise awareness of both.
However, the way the former Spain international has steadfastly defended City’s owners risks substantially harming his credibility.
Guardiola’s statement in the wake of the guilty verdict was in keeping with previous comments.
“I want every single @ManCity fan to know I am here; more than ever,” he said on X. “I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran, the players, staff, Enzo and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all.”
Guardiola previously reacted angrily to suggestions he had received undeclared payments from the club, after the Football Leaks website suggested ex-City boss Roberto Mancini was paid in such a way – a claim that the current Italy manager recently appeared to confirm.
“Do you know the question you’re asking me?” Guardiola said in response to the question in the wake of their 2019 FA Cup final victory over Watford.
“I listen to my chairman and my CEO, and I trust them. They tell me we are fair and we absolutely follow the rules. I believe them.”
Guardiola has struck a similarly defiant tone in subsequent years.
“I trust the club 100%,” he said after Uefa found City guilty of breaking their Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, resulting in a ban from European competition for two years that was eventually overturned on appeal.
In July 2020, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport declared that some of the more serious charges were either unproven or that too much time had passed to pass judgment, Guardiola responded: “The people say we cheated and were lying – and many times.”
When pressed on the veracity of the claims again in May 2022, Guardiola insisted he would resign as manager if City were found guilty and promised to distance himself from the club should such a controversy be proven.
When the 115 Premier League charges first came to light, Guardiola said: ”Just in case we are not innocent we will accept what the judge in the Premier League decides, but what happens if in the same situation that Uefa happened we are innocent – what happens to restore or pay back our damage?”
The manager continued to double down over the course of the three-and-a-half-year process.
“You are questioning like we have been punished. And in the moment, we are innocent until guilt is proved,” he said in November 2023.
“I know the people want it. I know, I feel it. I will wait. Wait and see it and after the sentence has been done we will come here and explain it.
“There is more chance [for me] to stay if we are in League One than if we were in the Champions League.”
He also vowed to hold a media conference in response to the verdict – a promise he has not yet fulfilled.
As the legal hearing approached in August 2024, he added: ”I am happy that it starts soon and hopefully it will finish soon. We will accept [the verdict], like we have always done.”
The following month, Guardiola took aim at what he saw as the schadenfreude of City’s critics.
“I know what people are looking for. I know what they are expecting – I know it because I have read it for many years.
Guardiola continued to back the City owners up to the day he stepped down as manager, and pictures of tonight of him tonight in the directors’ box with figures like club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and chief executive Ferran Soriano suggest nothing has changed in that regard.
It is easy to understand, if not necessarily justify, Guardiola’s behaviour.
He has dedicated a decade of his life to this project.
The ex-Barcelona star is also a notorious football obsessive.
Few people treat the game as seriously as he does or think about it with such depth, intensity and rigour.
In a recent documentary, he gave a sense of the toll it had taken on his life, citing a divorce from his wife as an example.
Most people want to believe their work has meaning.
Guardiola has no doubt suffered immensely to attain the privileged status he enjoys in football.
The implication that the 10 years of blood, sweat and tears he has shed on this painstaking journey is based on fraudulence and therefore should be discredited is not an easy accusation to accept.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Charges EPL Pep Guardiola Premier League Soccer talking point Manchester City PSG