Rodri, who moved to Barcelona this summer after several seasons at Manchester City, has already reacted to the news reporting that the Cityzens were declared guilty of 114 financial irregularities. On international duty with Spain, the midfielder said he believes the English club is innocent.
"When we see all the people who worked hard at Manchester City to achieve success, we know that what we won cannot be taken away. All of that was not paid for with money, but with effort and team spirit. Everything we won was deserved. We marked one of the great eras of English football. I believe in the club's innocence, because we already got past this in 2020. We went through an identical process in 2020. An exactly identical legal process, but the accusing party was different. The club always conveyed the reassurance that we would come out unpunished and the club was acquitted. I hope justice is done, whatever the outcome," he said at the press conference previewing the game against England (Saturday, 19:45), in the Nations League.
City's misfortune could benefit Mourinho
Manchester City was found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges of breaching the Premier League's financial rules, according to the report by The Athletic - not yet official - published this Friday in the main English newspapers. The punishments are not known, but some mention the possibility of losing the titles won by the club between 2009 and 2018, the years to which the infractions refer.
If this last mentioned possibility is confirmed, one of the main beneficiaries could be José Mourinho, who led Manchester United to second place in the 2017/18 season, behind champions Manchester City. If this is the punishment applied, Mourinho would win his fourth league title in the country, after winning three in charge of Chelsea.
According to Goal.com, there are other open possibilities for punishing the Manchester club that Pep Guardiola led to glory in recent years: a gigantic monetary fine or a points deduction in this season's edition, which could even cause the club's relegation, depending on the number of points deducted. If the points deduction had retroactive effects, Man. City could even lose the three national league titles won in that period. According to Sky News, the penalty could be 60, 80 or even 100 points. If the maximum penalty provided for is applied - something unlikely -, the club could even be expelled from the competition, which has never happened to any other club to this day.
This investigation carried out by the Premier League began following revelations published by the German magazine Der Spiegel in 2018, based on data collected by Football Leaks. After the Premier League's investigation was concluded in 2023, it was referred to an Independent Commission, which is preparing to announce the verdict in the near future. That, however, could later be subject to appeal.
Mourinho has already asked for the medal
Back in 2024, at a time when the case gained media attention, Mourinho already admitted the possibility of seeing his personal CV enriched. "I think we still have a chance of winning that league, because maybe they will punish Manchester City with a points deduction. And then they have to pay me the prize and give me the medal," he commented at the time.