Steven Gerrard has told the Premier League to make Manchester City 'suffer' after the club were found guilty of 114 financial rule breaches. Gerrard, 46, also says City need to be stripped of their trophies won between 2009 and 2018, including when they beat Liverpool to the Premier League title in 2014.
City deny charges and appeal
City continue to deny the charges and have lodged an appeal. Gerrard has sympathy for their players but wants the club to be made an example of, and hopes the Premier League will be as strong as they were when punishing Everton and Nottingham Forest for much less.
"In terms of how I feel, I potentially could be affected if you like, I wouldn't want individual players to give stuff back, that wouldn't be right," Gerrard said on The Overlap. "But the club, they have to be stripped.
Punishment and example
"There needs to be an example set, historically whether that's a star throughout all the years of their achievements, because then it doesn't matter whether the titles are stripped or not, as soon as that star is there, then everyone knows that [success] happened because of what we all know happened.
"And then there needs to be a punishment moving forward, I don't know what the right one is. I don't think its fair on the Championship if they go down, because they will be one of the three teams that come up, so that takes a slot away from the Championship so it's not fair on the EFL. Or the teams playing against City week in, week out.
"I think it's more moving forward in the Premier League, to punish them over a period of time, multi-year punishment, that would be my opinion, I'm not saying that's the right opinion but that's just how I feel. I think it needs to be a transfer ban, a points [deduction] over a period of time and make them suffer like they've made everyone suffer over the nine, 10 years that they've done it.
Recent form and next fixtures
"They were strong with Everton, strong with Forest punishments for breaches. Good luck to the Premier League but they have to be strong."
For now, City continue to compete in the Premier League and beat Gerrard's beloved Liverpool in convincing fashion at the weekend. Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki scored in their 3-0 win at Anfield. Enzo Maresca's side next face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
