Pep Guardiola facing 'serious questions' amid Man City scandal - 'He knew all about it'

Pep Guardiola is set to have serious questions asked about his managerial achievements in the wake of Manchester City's breaches.

In the past week, Man City have officially been found guilty of all 115 charges related to financial rule breaches, but have moved to challenge the decision via an appeal.

The Etihad club maintain their innocence and insist their is evidence to prove the ruling wrong, but the decision has brought into question all of their recent success.

Former Man United chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider that Guardiola "knew all about" Man City's rule breaches and his summer exit was strategically planned.

The boss has previously confessed he would walk away from his position if even one of the 115 charges resulted in a guilty verdict, in a move which matched the club's stance.

However, after the outcome of the Premier League investigation, questions will now be asked about the manager's involvement and his time at the club.

Why is Pep Guardiola coming in for criticism?

Brown told Football Insider back in May that Guardiola was likely to quit Man City in the summer, and that decision was ultimately down to the imminent outcome of the investigation.

The decision to walk away from his position during the summer came at a very convenient time, and while the decision was not made public until months after, it has raised red flags.

Guardiola's potential involvement in the ongoing scandal at the Etihad has led to questions about his own achievements, with doubts now growing.

"Manchester City have cheated on a mega scale, so there's going to be massive fallout from that," Brown told Football Insider.

"They'll maintain their innocence, but it seems pretty cut and dry as far as I'm concerned, the Premier League must have had plenty of evidence to find them guilty.

"Any trophies that Man City have won as a result of these rule breaches should be taken off of them, or at the very least they have been tainted.

"One interesting thing which I haven't heared mentioned much is about Pep Guardiola, because I have got some serious questions about him.

"I have no doubt he knew all about it, the timing of his decision to walk away was very convenient, and even at the time I remember saying I bet it had something to do with this.

"He said 'if the club are guilty of one of these charges, I'm gone', and then left Man City with a year left on his contract. It's certainly convenient.

"So people will start to ask questions; yes he's a brilliant coach, but did he only win the amount of trophies he did at Man City because they had an unfair advantage?

"I don't wish to deminish his achievements in any way, because he is a fantatsic manager, but it's long been said that he did it at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Man City.

"Those are three top clubs, but two of them you expect to win trophies, and at Man City they now have this hanging over him.

"There have been some scandals coming out about Barcelona during his time there as well, so that will be another thing to keep a close eye on and see where that goes.

"Those questions definitely have to be asked about his involvement, and we probably have to have some uncomfortable conversations about Guardiola and how much he knew."

Which other scandals may Guardiola have to address?

Guardiola recently spoke out about the verdict over Man City's breaches, throwing his support behind the club and backing up their stance that they have done nothing wrong.

However, City are not the only one of Guardiola's former clubs which are coming under pressure for potential off-field issues, with Barcelona also finding themselves in hot water.

The Catalan club are involved in an investigation into claims they paid around £7.1million to the former vice-president of the Spanish referee's committee between 2001 and 2018.

Guardiola managed the club between 2008 and 2012, in the middle of the alleged scandal, and if they are found guilty it could raise further questions about his legacy.

While he is no doubt one of the best and greatest managers of all time, if two of the three clubs he managed are tained with massive scandals, that legacy will be tainted.