Pep Guardiola's chances of punishment for Man City scandal revealed by top source

Pep Guardiola's reputation is likely to remain "untarnished" by the saga surrounding Manchester City's 114 financial breaches.

That is according to former Everton chief executive and ex-Premier League board member Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the Spanish boss will escape any sort of punishment.

City's breaches took place in a nine-year period between 2009 and 2018, and recent speculation has questioned whether Guardiola may have been compliant after joining back in 2016.

However, Wyness is adamant that the 55-year-old being involved in the rule-breaking simply wouldn't make sense, given that it largely happened at boardroom level.

The Scottish businessman does not expect any updates to emerge which could potentially implicate the former Barcelona chief.

Guardiola led City to the Premier League title in the 2017-18 campaign, but that is now one of the seasons whose outcome could be questioned.

Pep Guardiola positioning himself as 'victim'

Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Guardiola has already been clever to position himself as a "victim" in the whole saga surrounding City.

The legendary boss has previously suggested that he had no knowledge of the breaches at the top of the club, and Wyness does not expect him to be hit by any sort of punishment.

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, he explained why Guardiola is likely to be immune from any sanctions.

"I think it's highly unlikely. In Pep's case, the breaches were done way above him, and I wouldn't have expected him to have been involved in some way in terms of the accounting and the whole saga," Wyness said.

"It just doesn't make sense. Also, Pep did cover himself to a degree when he said that he'd been told that there were no transgressions. So in that sense he's already positioned himself as a victim. 

"Of course some information could come out that would implicate him but I think I really don't think that's going to be happening. So I think Pep will be untarnished by this to a great degree."

Enzo Maresca to 'enforce' Man City exit clause

Wyness previously told Football Insider last week that City's current boss Enzo Maresca will "enforce" his exit from the Etihad Stadium next summer.

The boardroom expert does not expect the Italian to walk away in the middle of the campaign, but feels that his exit is inevitable when the season ends.

Wyness is adamant that Maresca's contract will have an exit clause for this extremity, given that the breaches were still looming over City when he joined in the summer.

The former Chelsea boss has effectively been left helpless by the recent developments, and Wyness does not expect him to stick with the club if they are punished.