Enzo Maresca: Man City titles ‘absolutely not tainted’

A defiant Enzo Maresca claimed Manchester City’s success had not been tainted by the cheating scandal and insisted he would still have joined the club had he known about the guilty verdict.

Maresca addressed the media on Friday for the first time since a Premier League independent commission ruled City had inflated revenues and reduced costs by £920m between 2009 and 2018 in one of the most extraordinary scandals in English football history.

Asked if he felt City’s success under their Abu Dhabi ownership was tainted, the manager said: “Absolutely not.”

Maresca was part of Pep Guardiola’s staff when City won the treble in the 2022-23 campaign.

That was not one of the seasons under review by the commission, but Maresca was adamant that none of those achievements felt different in the context of City being ruled to have arranged “sham” contracts.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “Again, the last time I was here was the treble season. I know the effort from the players, from the club, from the manager in that time, who was Pep.

“So I know exactly the effort that the club put to achieve that kind of target. I don’t have any doubt about that.

“So again, I would like to speak about this [subject] when we’re going to win the appeal.”

Maresca also said he would still have joined City had he known before agreeing to sign that the club had been found guilty of breaching more than 100 of the Premier League’s financial rules. 

“One hundred per cent – because again, I know the organisation from years ago and I know how serious they are,” he said. “I know that they do the right things.”

More to follow…