Pep Guardiola breaks silence as Man City faces devastating consequences

Manchester City fans cannot know for sure what former manager Pep Guardiola knew or didn't know about the charges the club was facing regarding financial fair play. The Blues were found guilty of breaking rules between 2009 and 2018, the last two years of which Guardiola oversaw the on-field product.

Until Wednesday, though, Guardiola had said nothing about the reported guilty finding and waited until the Premier League made an official statement to address the matter. He did so on his official X handle.

Guardiola wrote, "I want every single Man City fan to know I am here; more than ever. I am, always have been, always will be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran, the players, staff, Enzo, and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all."

Pep Guardiola makes first public statement about Manchester City's legal situation

To be sure, there will be many non-City fans who will assume Guardiola is as guilty as the ownership group for what the club is accused of doing. Maybe Guardiola wasn't signing the paychecks, but he could have understood that what the club was reporting they were paying a player or manager wasn't the true amount.

Some might feel that Guardiola is guilty by association, if not by direct wrongdoing. But those are for other fans to think about. For Man City fans, Guardiola will always represent something different.

After all, as much as there are layers to the level of success City had under Guardiola (20 trophies, including six Premier League titles), the bottom line is that the players and Guardiola were the ones winning on the pitch. Many of them were paid a great deal to perform well, but they still had to perform.

Some non-City supporters might also feel angry at Pep Guardiola for saying he was standing firmly behind owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the Abu Dhabi United Group, but what else is the former manager supposed to say? What would any long-time employee of a company say after so much success?

Maybe many Premier League fans won't be happy with what Guardiola wrote, but what he said is what many of us would say in the same situation. He isn't going to suddenly turn his back after living through the triumphs and trials of Manchester City for a decade.

He doesn't want to let the fans down, of course, and the loyalty of the fans is what has always mattered the most in City. In this case, Guardiola is simply showing loyalty back to those who supported him so well for so long.

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