Manchester City head coach Enzo Maresca is preparing to speak to his players for the first time about the club’s guilty verdict in a private meeting ahead of Sunday’s pivotal clash with Liverpool at Anfield.
Maresca is set to hold talks with his returning players on Thursday as the squad reconvenes following the international break, with preparations for the Liverpool fixture beginning immediately afterwards.
Maresca will address his players as a group during their first session back at the club’s training facility on Thursday, giving him limited time to ready his side for one of the most significant away trips of the season.
The timing is far from ideal. Most of City’s squad have been away with their national teams, with the players expected to return to Manchester ahead of Sunday’s Premier League trip to Liverpool.
Maresca and his squad have been shielded from the news to a degree by the three-week international break, but City’s head coach will be forced to address the issue this week as the Premier League resumes.
Club found guilty of 114 of 115 charges
The meeting comes in the wake of one of the most consequential rulings in English football history. It was confirmed last week that an independent panel had found City guilty of 114 charges of financial misconduct and impeding the Premier League’s investigation.
The Premier League’s official findings were unequivocal. The league said: “An independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the league’s investigation.”
City has not accepted the verdict. The club said it was “disappointed and surprised” by the commission’s verdict, that it was “innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League” and will be “relentless” as it pursues avenues to appeal.
The club continues to assert its innocence and has confirmed it will lodge an appeal against the verdict, meaning the case remains unresolved even as the football continues.
Despite the turmoil off the pitch, City’s form under Maresca has been exceptional. Maresca’s side entered the international break top of the Premier League after winning all five of their opening matches. That’s a remarkable start for a manager who has only just taken charge at the Etihad.
Support from Guardiola, distraction acknowledged by Tuchel
City’s former manager Pep Guardiola, who left the role this summer, has publicly thrown his weight behind the club amid the fallout.
He said: “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.”
Elsewhere, England manager Thomas Tuchel has acknowledged the pressure facing City’s internationals during the furore, admitting the situation has weighed on players away on duty.
“I know the Man City players get a lot of messages and phone calls and feedback about it,” he said.
A season-defining week at Anfield and beyond
Sunday’s trip to Merseyside represents City’s first competitive fixture since the verdict was announced, and the atmosphere at Anfield is expected to be hostile.
Things will get no easier for City after the Liverpool match, with a Champions League meeting with Paris Saint-Germain to come in midweek, piling further pressure on a squad already contending with off-field distractions.
