Arsenal legend Ian Wright has said the toll of battling Manchester City "probably broke" former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, as he reacted to the club being found guilty of financial breaches. The Premier League confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that City had been found guilty by an independent commission, three years after the club were first charged in 2023.
Liverpool regularly battled City for the Premier League title during Klopp's tenure before his departure in 2024, finishing second with more than 90 points on two occasions. The Premier League's statement listed four reasons for the guilty verdict, prompting City to issue their own response maintaining their innocence and expressing "disappointment" and "surprise" at the announcement.
Wright demands 'unprecedented punishment'
Wright, who first called for City to face punishment when the story emerged last week, reiterated his stance following the Premier League's announcement. Speaking to ITV Sport, he said: "It's cheating on an industrial scale. It's quite surreal seeing it written down like that. The amount of stick I've taken off that. Unprecedented punishment is required here. It's a massive day for the Premier League. They've taken on a whole country, massive."
He also addressed City's next fixture against Liverpool on October 11, their first Premier League match after the international break. "Very messy. It's a problem for them to be going to Liverpool (in their next fixture). In their real time, Liverpool were the team chasing them down. Look at what Jurgen Klopp went through to break them - it probably broke him. It's so sad. It's probably going to get very litigious."
Keane and City respond
Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane also voiced his opinion, saying: "It's very damaging for the league, the brand is huge all over the world, but for them [City] to be caught cheating, they deserve that punishment. It's bittersweet. You deserve to be punished, but it's not good for the league. What about the players who have been part of the problem, new players, what happens now going forward?"
City released a statement on Tuesday evening: "Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission, that has been published today. The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. The Club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums."
The statement continued: "The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements uncompleted. Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe. The Club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence. The Club is obviously restricted in what it can say further until all future proceedings are complete."
