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Man City Receive Surprise Defense From Long-Time Premier League Rival

The world is crashing down on Man City, but an unexpected source came out to defend their players.
Roberto Casillas|
Andrew Robertson (middle) had countless battles against Man City during his time at Liverpool.
Andrew Robertson (middle) had countless battles against Man City during his time at Liverpool. | Carl Recine/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur left back Andy Robertson believes that it would be wrong to blame Manchester City players for the club being found guilty of breaching financial fair play regulations, stating “the players showed they were good enough on the pitch.”

Man City are in the eye of the storm after being found guilty of 114 of the 115 financial charges against them between 2009–2018 following an investigation.

Deliberations remain ongoing regarding what punishment City’s charges will merit, yet the club is expected to appeal any punishment given it remains steadfast on its innocent stance. Still, the news took over the soccer world during the infancy of the international break.

Robertson, who spent nine seasons at Liverpool—City’s main Premier League rival over the past decade—before joining Tottenham this summer, shared his thoughts on the verdict while on international duty with Scotland.

“I think you can hear the shock in my voice,” Robertson said. “The case has obviously been going on. For me, the players showed they were good enough on the pitch.

“I don’t know too much about the charges and stuff like that. But they had an incredible team, one that I loved battling against. I don’t think when it comes to these things that players are ever to blame. That’s all I can focus on.”

Other players, such as former Man City star Rodri, have also come out in defense of the club.

Jürgen Klopp’s Old Comments Resurface

Jürgen Klopp and Erling Haaland
Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool had a fierce rivalry with Manchester City. | James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

Robertson may be focusing on ensuring Man City players aren’t blamed for the guilty verdict, but he didn’t share his thoughts on the Citizens potentially getting retroactively stripped of their titles won during the era in which the breaches took place.

Although this punishment appears extremely unlikely, Robertson’s former Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp already revealed what he’d do if the Reds are retroactively named Premier League champions.

“If it would happen, I told all the people that want it to book a flight, I buy the beer,” Klopp said in 2024 after leaving Liverpool. “Whatever we have to celebrate we will do it, we would have our own parade in my garden.”

Still, the only Premier League title Liverpool could potentially win retroactively is when they came second to City in 2013–14 under Brendan Rogers. Klopp’s Liverpool were runner-ups to Pep Guardiola’s City in 2018–19 and 2021–22, both seasons outside of the period when City’s financial breaches occurred.

Regardless of what the final outcome is, significant sanctions could be looming on City’s horizon.

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Roberto Casillas
ROBERTO CASILLAS

Roberto Casillas is a writer for SI FC, focusing primarily on FC Barcelona, the Mexico National Team, Liga MX and all things Latin American football. Born and raised in Mexico City, he developed a deep passion for football from an early age and fell in love with Cruz Azul. The once future star of Mexican football still likes to showcase what’s left of his talent on the Sunday league pitch. He’s also a big fan of the New England Patriots—so much so he moved to the region for four years—, Chicago Cubs and is a life-long Formula 1 follower. When he takes a break from sports, he enjoys traveling the world, watching the latest great TV show, going to concerts and spending plenty of time with friends and family.

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