‘Period of deception’ – Pochettino on Man City verdict

Former Tottenham and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino says “we have lived through a period of deception” after Manchester City were found guilty of breaking the majority of the charges brought against them by the Premier League.

An independent panel found City to be guilty of a wide range of financial rule breaches, with the Athletic reporting on Friday that 114 of the 115 charges against them have been upheld.

Sanctions are yet to be announced, but City plan on appealing against the decision.

The charges relate to a period from 2009-10 to 2017-18, while they were accused of a failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations between December 2018 to February 2023.

United States manager Pochettino managed three clubs in the Premier League during that time, with the 54-year-old spending 15 months at Southampton, five years at Tottenham and a single season with Chelsea.

“Whatever punishment [they choose], it’s impossible to turn back time,” said Pochettino.

“It’s done a lot of damage. Many clubs followed the rules and some didn’t.

“Maybe they thought that the punishment [wouldn’t come for a lot of years] – what are they going to do? An economic punishment? Docking points? It’s really hard.

“It is a huge sadness. We get into a situation where what got celebrated wasn’t that real, what seemed good maybe wasn’t so good, what didn’t look good maybe was good but couldn’t be good because of what happened.

“We went through something where sporting fairness didn’t exist. So, how do you repair everything that was damaged because of that, if it’s true all of the 114 rules that were broken, we’ve lived through a period of deception.”

Earlier this month, Pochettino said Chelsea should be stripped of the 2016-17 Premier League title after being found guilty of historical rule breaches and that it should be “awarded” to his Tottenham side, who finished runners-up.

Sources have told BBC Sport that other top flight clubs are seeking legal advice over possible compensation claims following the decision against City.

City were charged by the Premier League in February 2023 following a four-year investigation.

The club were referred to an independent commission. A behind-closed-doors hearing began in September 2024 and ran for about 12 weeks.

“Where were the controls?” said Pochettino on City being found guilty. “That’s what gets my attention. Where were the controls?

“If I remember being at Southampton, then Tottenham – I remember building [the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium] and not having the economic possibility of a transfer for 18 months.

“I think we were the only team in the history of the Premier League with 18 months without [making a transfer].

“Tottenham was fighting for titles with those above us and every year in the top four, getting to the semi-finals of the Champions League without being able to do a transfer for 18 months, all because we needed to get used to the [Premier League financial controls]?

“They were so strict with us but also so lenient with others. Because of that, that’s why I say: it’s all very strange.”