Manchester City
Guardiola Voice Frustration as City-Premier League Verdict Stalls
Guardiola voiced frustration as the panel delay continues over City’s 115 alleged breaches. unchanged
Pep Guardiola expressed mounting frustration after offering no fresh information about the continuing delay over the verdict in Manchester City’s longstanding legal dispute with the Premier League. The case concerns alleged breaches of more than 100 financial regulations.
City were first accused by the Premier League in February 2023 of breaking 115 rules, most of which relate to the division’s financial fair play rules from 2009–18. During that period they won three top-flight titles. The club were also deemed to have failed to co-operate with various Premier League investigations from 2018–23. A clerical error during the tallying of regulations has since prompted suggestions the total could be 130, although the figure of 115 remains the most widely used. City deny all allegations.
At the heart of the Premier League’s case is the accusation that City’s owners falsely inflated revenue so the club could continue to spend without recording a loss, contrary to the rules in place at the time. That artificial increase is said to have come via favourable sponsorship agreements with companies the owners either owned or controlled. The club have also been accused of obscuring expenditures, with the financial remunerations for one of their managers reportedly undisclosed to ensure he was paid more than officially declared.
Guardiola, who was appointed in 2016, only had his first Premier League title (2017–18) fall inside the 2009–18 scrutiny window. As the club’s figurehead for the past near decade, the coach has borne the brunt of questioning since the case emerged in 2023.
The hearing between City and the Premier League ran from Sept. 16–Dec. 6, 2024, but a decision has not been announced. Guardiola earlier predicted in February 2025 it would be “one month” before the independent panel’s conclusion. Almost a year on, the manager refused to speculate: “It’s the same question I ask you, so I don’t know. I don’t know,” he moaned when presented with queries about the case. “Maybe you have better info than me. You don’t have?
“I would love to have it, but I don’t know. I don’t know. The same answer to your question is the same you answered me one, two, three years ago. So they must be so busy.”
Manchester City
Manchester City agree in principle to extend Phil Foden despite dip in form
City have agreed in principle to extend Phil Foden’s contract despite his recent dip in form. summer
Manchester City have reached an understanding with Phil Foden on a new long-term deal, with the England international said to have “agreed in principle” to a contract that will keep him at the Etihad beyond his 30th birthday. The club and player remain aligned and are expected to finalise terms “in due course.”
The negotiations represent a notable shift in representation for the 25-year-old, who had been handled by his family through his career. These talks, however, were led by Rafaela Pimenta, the Brazilian lawyer who also manages teammate Erling Haaland after inheriting the late Mino Raiola’s stable in 2022.
Foden’s connection to City is long established. Scouted at four, the Stockport-born player received private education funded by the club and progressed through the academy to make his first-team debut aged 17 in 2017. He has since made more than 350 senior appearances and emerged as a key figure from 2020 during a period of sustained success for City.
That peak arrived in 2023–24, when Foden completed a clean sweep of England’s major individual honours: PFA Players’ Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season. A difficult Euro 2024 with England followed, and Foden acknowledged mental and physical issues last May that undermined his 2024–25 season. This campaign has not matched his best form.
A prolific spell across four Premier League matches from late November to mid-December produced six goals and one assist, but he has not scored since and has struggled for regular starts. Since a halftime withdrawal against Manchester United on Jan. 17, Foden has started only two of City’s last 12 Premier League fixtures, been an unused substitute in three and played five minutes or less in three others. He was also left on the bench in both legs of the Champions League round of 16 with Real Madrid.
Versatility has both helped and hampered him; during his winter run he operated on the left, right and as a No. 10 and has since found competition for places intense. With Jérémy Doku back on the left, Antoine Semenyo established on the right after arriving in January and Rayan Cherki providing spark through the middle, his role has been limited. The March international break highlighted England manager Thomas Tuchel’s ongoing search for solutions, a situation that could leave openings for Foden in the summer.
After Euro 2024, he said, “The position I was put in on the left was very difficult to influence the game,” he told the Manchester Evening News.
Manchester City
Guardiola reaffirmes commitment as City prepare for final push
Guardiola says he still boasts “incredible energy” and will honour his contract as City chase titles
Deep into his 10th season as Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola has publicly resisted talk of an imminent departure while preparing his side for the closing stages of the campaign. City have already secured the Carabao Cup at the expense of Arsenal and still face an FA Cup final, milestones that have framed much of the recent speculation.
Guardiola sought to deflect questions about his future by pointing to the environment around him. “I wouldn’t be 10 years [here]—even with good titles—if I didn’t have this incredible environment,” Guardiola gushed at the start of May. “I still have incredible energy, still I’m so good, coming here to work on my days off.
“Of course we’re here because we won a lot—and that’s why they don’t fire you, because they continue to trust you—but apart from that, the club is really, really extraordinary. The people take care of all of us in all details. The little details mean my job as a manager and the players, is to just think about what you have to do.
“It’s like a bubble that makes people feel good. It’s a big club, but here it is a family.”
On the contractual question, Guardiola reiterated a straightforward position. “I have a contract,” the Catalan coach sighed when quizzed on the subject once again in January. “I said a thousand million times. It’s 10 years here. I will leave one day, but I have a contract.”
The club structure that helped persuade Guardiola to arrive in 2016 is part of the backstory. Ferran Soriano was installed as a City executive in 2012, and one month later he hired Guardiola’s former Barcelona teammate Txiki Begiristain as sporting director, laying groundwork for the appointment.
Guardiola has also pointed to testimony from former players, citing Aymeric Laporte: “City is the best club in the world and you never realize how good they are, how incredibly organized, until you leave.” He recalled Ilkay Gündogan returning from Barcelona and calling Manchester City “top-top.”
Despite the coach’s public tone and an on-paper commitment, outlets including ESPN have reported that a change of mind after the season would not surprise many. Should Guardiola deliver a domestic treble, few would begrudge the 55-year-old departing at the peak of a transformational decade.
Manchester City
Guardiola Explains Choosing Stockport Over Champions League Classic
Guardiola watched Stockport v Port Vale instead of PSG v Bayern calling the clash ‘a disaster game.’
Pep Guardiola’s presence at Edgeley Park on Tuesday — watching Stockport County take on Port Vale in League One — raised more than a few eyebrows. His decision to sit in the stands coincided with the Champions League semifinal first leg at Parc des Princes between Paris Saint Germain and Bayern Munich, a 5–4 contest that left PSG with a slight advantage.
Guardiola addressed his choice on Friday with a line that undercut the spectacle for many viewers. “The day before, I saw the calendar and the game PSG versus Bayern Munich, and I said ‘Bleh! What a disaster game,’” Guardiola told reporters with a sarcastic smirk. “Managers are not good, [PSG’s] Luis [Enrique] and [Bayern’s] Vincent [Kompany]. Really, really s— players.”
The comments carried extra weight because of Guardiola’s personal connections to both figures he mentioned. Guardiola and Enrique share a deep, long-standing friendship, having played together for Barcelona from 1996–2001. Kompany is also part of Guardiola’s professional history; he served as a player and captain under Guardiola at City between 2016 and 2019, a period that produced six trophies. Kompany has been outspoken about his respect and admiration for Guardiola’s coaching style, even naming him as “the best coach I ever had.”
City’s schedule helps explain Guardiola’s availability. Manchester City had the week off after being eliminated from the Champions League last month and are not back in Premier League action until Monday, when they face Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium. That gap allowed Guardiola to attend a lower-league fixture in person, even as the continent watched a high-scoring European tie unfold.
Whether viewed as an amusing lark or a pointed dismissal of a headline fixture, Guardiola’s explanation and the context around his outing ensured the episode dominated conversation through the week.
