Enzo Maresca has backed Manchester City’s hierarchy to resolve the club’s financial case but refused to say whether his trust would survive a failed appeal against the Premier League verdict.
The City manager said he wanted to respect the ongoing process and was unwilling to speculate about possible sanctions. The club denies wrongdoing and has appealed against findings that it breached financial rules between 2009 and 2018.
“I trust the club because I trust the people and this is also the reason why I joined the club,” Maresca said on Friday. “There is not another club in the world where I would like to be. I’m very happy to be, I’m very proud.”
Asked whether his position might change if City lost their appeal, the Italian said: “I don’t know. We are predicting the future. Again, I’m worried about tomorrow, in two days, in three days. I don’t know what’s happening in the future.”
The 46-year-old also refused to be drawn on the possibility of City being expelled from the Premier League, a potential sanction that has raised questions about the club’s future. Pep Guardiola previously said he would leave if he discovered that the club’s hierarchy had lied to him about its financial dealings.
Maresca, who won the Championship with Leicester in 2024, responded to a question about a possible move to League One by saying: “So in case we [are in] League One, we’re going to see. We are thinking about something that we don’t know.”
The verdict has also prompted questions about the legitimacy of City’s achievements since the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008. Maresca rejected suggestions that the club’s honours had been tarnished, including the treble he helped Guardiola win in 2022-23 while serving as his assistant.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “The last time I was here was in the treble season and I know the effort from the players, the club, the manager. I know the effort that the club put to achieve that kind of target so I don’t have any doubt about that.”
City’s immediate concern is their trip to Liverpool on Sunday, their first match since the findings were published. They have won their opening five league games and sit top of the table, with Maresca confident that the uncertainty surrounding the case will not distract his players.
“We understand the seriousness of the situation. I’m not saying that we don’t understand that,” he said. “The players understand. But it’s our duty, our job, to try to control the noise. Also, the manager and the players are focused on winning games, not on something different.”
