Enzo Maresca is adamant Manchester City will win their appeal over the guilty verdict for 114 breaches of the Premier League's financial rules. The City boss says he trusts the club's hierarchy implicitly following the decision by the Premier League's Independent Commission during the international break.
Guilty verdict details
On September 29, the Premier League published their redacted, 40-page core decision, which confirmed City had artificially inflated their commercial revenues by £830m between 2009 and 2018 through what were described as "sham" contracts. The Etihad Stadium outfit were also found to have understated their expenses by as much as £66m during that period, with the division's chief executive, Richard Masters, stating that the club had "systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade".
City maintain their innocence and have since appealed. Maresca, speaking to a press conference ahead of Sunday's visit to Liverpool, explained why he believes those at the top of the Etihad chain of command.
Maresca's trust in the club
City boss Maresca said: "I understand the reason why most of you are here but the only thing I can say is that it's something I already said. There is a process ongoing and in this moment I completely trust the club, so this is what I can say about that."
"I trust the club because I trust the people, it's why I joined. There's no other club I would like to be. I am proud here, I am very happy so this is my club."
"Again, I understand the reason most of you are here, it's just what I said already. The reason I joined this club, I trusted the club, the owners, the CEO, the directors."
"Did I get personal assurances when I joined? I spoke with the club for sure. We all trust them. The right moment to speak about that is when we win this appeal."
"I would like to speak about this situation when we win the appeal. Now it is nonsense to speak about anything else. I know you all want to hear something [different], but no. I trust the club in this moment, in the future and always."
"You cannot avoid this, we completely understand the situation and the players do, but it is our duty. Because the manager and the players are focused on winning games, not something else."
"What happens if the appeal is lost? What about if the appeal is won? I don't know, we are predicting the future."
"I am more worried about tomorrow and two days [at Anfield]. I think it is fair from my POV to respect the process. The appeal is ongoing, so let's see what happens."
Anfield challenge
City have won once in front of supporters at Anfield in the Premier League in 23 years, which was the 2-1 victory back in February, and Maresca accepts that a trip to Liverpool is always one of the toughest assignments for any club.
"It will be a tough game, a tough test but we need to be ready," he added. "We need to be focused on the game but the environment at Anfield is nice and maybe even worse because of the situation."
"Absolutely the players can face the pressure, we have players who have had similar situations. Enzo Fernandez, he played in Argentina, every game is almost like going to Anfield."
"In this moment, it's a matter of being together, sticking together. Everything we said yesterday is true, this is the situation and the noise. We need to do the right things, we're on the same page. Owners, fans, the CEO, the sporting director."
"They need to help their team-mates, they are doing that. But again, I understand you want to hear different words from me but the players - yes, the noise is there - but they are 20-25 years old, they enjoy the training sessions, they go home happy, they are top of the league. They believe they can beat Liverpool and they will try."
"[We deal with this] exactly the same way [as when the charges were announced in 2023]. We handle the noise, we understand the seriousness of the situation, it is something serious."
"But at the same time, we try to focus on what we can control, to go to Anfield and try to win the game."
Haaland fit for Anfield
Maresca also confirmed Erling Haaland is fit for the game after muscle fatigue on international duty with Norway. "Finally [a football question]," Maresca joked. "He's good, went to Marbella, had two or three days off, it was recovery."
"He is ready for Anfield. Again, the players they are thinking about internationals, then have some days off and to go again."
Speaking to the club's official channels on Thursday, Maresca claimed the squad are ready to ignore "the noise" around what has become one of the biggest scandals in British sport. He said: "Personally I am very calm, the club has been quite clear and we trust the club. We understand the noise but the focus is on what we can control and that is the football side."
"The feeling is fantastic [within the squad] to be honest. They are excited for the next two games, especially because in this moment we are top of the league."
"The players they are just focused on that and they know they can control the football side, so they are not worried about different things."
"They know they are professional and they know the noise is there but they don't care too much about the noise, they are not focused on the noise they are just focused on the Liverpool game and how we can win at Anfield."
