Graeme Souness doesn’t think Manchester City should have their Premier League titles stripped if found guilty of the charges facing them.
In February the Premier League referred City to an independent commission in relation to 115 breaches of financial rules between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons.
The charges broke down into four sections relating to not providing accurate financial information, not fully disclosing managerial remuneration, breaching profit and sustainability rules and not complying with UEFA’s rules regarding club licensing and financial fair play.
City denied any wrongdoing in the strongest possible terms, saying in an official statement that they “look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.”
The case is likely to take years to be resolved, and since the charges were made public five-and-a-half months ago Pep Guardiola’s side have won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
Souness defends City
Many fans of other clubs and pundits have called for City to be stripped of their titles if found guilty, with some suggesting that relegation would be more appropriate.
However, pundit and former Liverpool player and manager Graeme Souness doesn’t agree.
Not only does he think City should keep their titles no matter the findings of the commission, but he believes Sheikh Mansour and the City Football Group have done a lot of good since they bought the club in 2008.
“I personally don’t think they should be stripped of anything,” Souness told talkSPORT.
“I think it’s a hard one to take, [but] you’ve got to look at the bigger picture and think about what these people have done for that part of Manchester.
“Okay, they’ve created an absolute monster of a football club, but they’ve invested so heavily and changed the lives of people in that particular part of Manchester.
“I’m not sure how you can publish them though, given they have the deepest pockets of any team out there right now.
“Would they be the only team who has pushed the boundaries? I’m not sure about that either.”
