Man City charges: Enzo Maresca says owners 'convinced' club will win appeal against guilty verdict as he 'trusts' hierarchy

Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca says the club's owners are "convinced" they will win their appeal against an independent commission that found them guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules.

Speaking at his first press conference since the verdict was announced, Maresca insisted he "100 per cent completely trusts" the club's hierarchy, making him believe "we're going to win the appeal".

In his 15-minute press conference ahead of Sunday's game at Liverpool, live on Sky Sports, the Italian also said:

• Man City's achievements are "absolutely not" tainted

• "The right time to speak is when we win the appeal"

• Admitted he had not read the findings of the commission

• Believes everyone is on "the same page" at the club

• Backs his team to handle Sunday's "even worse" Anfield environment and called for his players to "stick together"

The independent commission found that between 2009/10 and 2017/18, Man City arranged "sham" contracts with a number of its commercial partners as part of a "disguised funding scheme" to artificially inflate the club's revenues by £830m.

Last Friday, City confirmed their appeal because they are "innocent" and described the judgement against them as "opinion" and claimed it "contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe".

Maresca, who was assistant to Pep Guardiola in the 2022/23 treble-winning season, replaced the Spaniard as head coach this summer.

Asked if he would still have joined the club had the verdict been released earlier, he replied: "I know the organisation from years ago. I know how serious they are. I know they do the right things."

Questioned on whether the charges issue was raised during talks, he responded: "No, we didn't speak about that. I didn't think that was a problem for the club at that time. Also, because they are thinking in an honest way.

"I think they are convinced that in the end we will win the appeal."

Earlier he said: "The reason why I joined this club is I completely trust 100 per cent, the owner, the sporting director, the CEO - all the organisation. I have no doubt about that.

"I spoke with the club for sure. Probably the right moment to speak about that is when we're going to win this appeal."

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Maresca says City's achievements not tainted

Asked whether the trophies won during the period in question were tainted, Maresca replied: "Absolutely not. I know the effort from the players, the club and the manager at the time, Pep (Guardiola), so I don't have any doubt about that.

He added: "There is not another club in the world where I would like to be."

Maresca admitted he had not read the findings of the commission.

"Again, I trust the club. I promise you my focus is just about football so I'm not thinking about different things because, first of all, I don't understand about many things," he said ahead of Sunday's trip to Anfield.

"For me, for the players, we can control just the football side. We are focused on that and that is what we can control, we can't control anything different.

"We just try to manage the noise. We understand the seriousness of the situation, the noise. We just need to manage that. We have to go to Anfield and win the game."

'Media masterclass from Maresca'

Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol:

"I think it was a media masterclass from Enzo Maresca about how to deal with tough questions when you are in the middle of a media storm.

"Man City will be delighted with the way he handled that. It is not good news for journalists because we didn't really get a moment.

"There are not going to be big headlines that you will say. What I thought was interesting was his body language.

"City will be really happy about that. He was relaxed; at the end of it, he was smiling and joking. He didn't look like someone who was cornered.

"He didn't look like somebody under pressure. He kept to the script.

"He gave very little away and just kept saying that he trusts the owners and we have to wait for the appeal. I can only focus on the pitch; we can only control the controllables.

"He was also asked the question about whether it should it be the chairman or CEO doing this press conference, instead of you [Maresca], but again, he didn't give anything away."

The view from inside the press conference...

Sky Sports News reporter Ben Ransom from the press conference:

"My dealings with Enzo Maresca don't go back that long in the sense that he only joined as the manager in the summer. I've obviously sat here and done press conferences with him every week since he joined, and he has always presented himself like that: relaxed and calm.

"He must have also, at the back of his mind, known that at some point the independent commission were going to release their findings.

"Well, as far as Maresca is concerned today, he reiterated the statement and that the idea of the club are innocent. That's certainly what they have said all along and because of that appeal, I suppose, it made it a bit easier for him in the sense that he can defend the club on that basis.

"He held himself really well, and he kept his composure all the way through.

"How many different ways can a room full of journalists ask essentially the same question to try and get some sort of an emotional reaction out of him? We found out in 15 minutes, everyone had a little try, different ways into that conversation, but he handled it very well, and there wasn't quite the same emotion that we saw, for example, when Pep Guardiola sat down and responded very bullishly when the charges were initially announced in February 2023.

"Maresca was here at the club at that point. Remember, he was Pep's assistant at the time, so it was interesting to just get a sense of the fact that perhaps he's been, in a way, preparing ever since that time, looking at how Pep dealt with it, certainly in-house as well and the communications and the way he spoke to both the media and then the players inside and outside the building.

"In that sense, we shouldn't be surprised, but a few in the room probably will be that he managed to stick to the script as he did all the way through that and essentially will be pretty happy when he watches it back."

'Maresca more open on guilty verdict than expected'

Sky Sports' Laura Hunter from the press conference:

"Enzo Maresca presented an unflappable figure during 15 minutes of questioning on the Premier League's findings. He didn't trip once.

"His calm and considered responses were impressive given the room was packed with national journalists from almost every outlet. I counted 14 cameras. That is not usual.

"And he was more open than I expected him to be, referring back his focus on the football, but also standing firm on his stance that he trusts the club '100 per cent'.

"I do think he's got a bit of a 'get out of jail' card while Manchester City remain top of the league. He can legitimately refer back to that as a job well done - wins always quieten scrutiny.

"The difficult part will be if results turn at any point. Maresca will be asked if his squad are distracted, or have been impacted by what he describes as 'just noise'.

"No doubt that so-called noise will be deafening at Anfield. He's passed this first test. The next one comes this weekend."

How will City's perfect start be affected by verdict?

Sky Sports' Adam Bate:

"Anfield is famous for its atmosphere, but the mood awaiting Manchester City on Sunday will be unique. What a venue for City's first game since an independent commission judged they broke Premier League rules between 2009 and 2018. Seismic.

"City are appealing, of course, but the Liverpool crowd will deliver their own verdict and expect it to be vociferous. On the pitch, for what that is worth, Enzo Maresca's City side are defending a perfect record of five wins from five and are currently top of the table.

"Andoni Iraola is also unbeaten since taking over at Liverpool but with three draws from their opening five games, this feels like the first big test of his reign - and his team's own title credentials. Whatever happens, all eyes will be on an Anfield clash to remember."

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