Man City 115 charges: Ex-PL CEO drops new ‘bought the league’ verdict
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has insisted Pep Guardiola must get “full credit” for his reign at Man City despite the 115 charges hanging over the club.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – refused to accuse the champions-elect of “buying Premier League titles” despite their lavish transfer spending.
Man City, who play West Ham on the final day (19 May) moved to within three points of the title with a 2-0 win over Tottenham on Tuesday (14 May).
If they complete the job on Sunday, City will have won the title in six of the last seven seasons.
Guardiola’s side have been accused of “buying the league” by rival fans but have recorded a lower net spend than Chelsea and Man United since the Spaniard arrived in 2016 (as per Transfermarkt).
Guardiola deserves ‘full credit’ for Man City success, says Wyness
Last year, City were charged 115 times by the Premier League for financial irregularities during the past decade – but the case is yet to go before an independent commission.
Wyness told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “There is famously in football a correlation between points and pounds. That’s irrefutable.
“But with that being said, Pep Guardiola has proven to be a superb manager. There’s a lot to be said for him, his style of football and his man management.
“Even though you’ve got multi-million-pound players, other clubs haven’t managed to make that work for them – and Guardiola has.
“You’ve got to give him a huge amount of credit for what he’s done.
“I’m not going to say he’s bought his Premier League titles.
“There is the concern about where they got the money from in the first place, and that’s what these 115 charges relate to.
“However, Pep gets full credit – they’ve been a joy to watch.
“I’m a full admirer of the way they play their football, let’s just hope they’ve done it within the rules.”
In other news, 29-year-old is “very unhappy” at Man City.
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