Roy Keane has criticised former Manchester City midfielder Rodri after the Spaniard defended the club's success, insisting City 'chose to cheat' and must now face punishment.
Manchester City have been found guilty on all but one of the 115 charges brought against them for breaching Premier League financial rules. The club was initially charged in February 2023 with breaking financial regulations over a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018.
The exact punishment remains unclear, with City continuing to protest their innocence. Much of the Premier League's process is still to run, including an appeal.
Rodri defends City's achievements
Rodri, who won four Premier League titles with Manchester City between 2021 and 2024, captained Spain against England at Wembley on Saturday and gave his view on the situation.
'What we did, they cannot take out of us. It's something that is not paid by money. It's paid with effort, with partnership, with being shoulder-to-shoulder every day,' he said in a pre-match press conference.
'We had a lot of success and I can tell you that everything was deserved, and I'm glad that I could live one of the best eras of English football in here. Everyone has to follow the rules, that's great and they always express the confidence that they never did something wrong, and we believe in that.'
Keane and Wright respond
Keane, the former Manchester United captain, did not share those sentiments and believes City now need to accept their punishment if the guilty verdict stands.
'It's about time. It has obviously been going on a long time now,' Keane said on ITV. 'I certainly would disagree with Rodri's messages there. It was their choice, the club. They chose to cheat.
'Whatever they have won over the last few years, they deserve to be punished. Where we start and finish with that obviously is difficult but they were cheating. They've been found guilty of it and they have to take their medicine now. It was a shock to be found guilty of, is it 114 charges they were found guilty of? Big news.'
Arsenal legend Ian Wright also had little sympathy for Rodri's viewpoint. Although he accepts no one can take the experiences away from the Manchester City players, he believes the accolades could be stripped.
'He's talking about what he's done, he went shoulder-to-shoulder with the guys and of course you can't take that away from them, they experienced that,' said Wright. 'But they should take it away from them, they should be punished for it.
'They may be able to experience those memories and great times together, but when you look at the teams that were trying to chase them, who were doing it right, it's not right! What have we taken from Liverpool's legacy? [Jurgen] Klopp and that team. What could they have experienced?
'They cheated to get it done and people have missed out on that, players have missed out on unbelievable opportunities for themselves. I'm glad we've finally got there.'
Potential punishment
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has suggested a points deduction is the most likely outcome for Manchester City.
'There is no doubt a points deduction would be the most likely outcome in the view of many,' Maguire told TalkTV. 'We have seen points deductions before for Nottingham Forest and Everton for breach of the financial limit rules. So that is feasible. There is a separate issue of whether clubs who have missed out on titles, could they put in for financial compensation for not getting into Europe and loss of prize money.'
