Pep Guardiola says people expect to see Manchester City wiped “off the face of the Earth” amid the ongoing hearing into the club’s 115 charges for alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules.
Champions in six of the past seven seasons, City could, in theory, face a points deduction serious enough to condemn them to relegation – or even expulsion – from the Premier League, if found to have breached regulations.
City strongly deny all charges but Guardiola believes their Premier League rivals want to see them punished.
In pursuit of a fifth successive league triumph, they host title rivals Arsenal on Sunday (16:30 BST), one week into the expected 10-week hearing.
Guardiola addressed the hearing unprompted while answering a question about the tendency of people to overly criticise isolated bad performances.
“During a season, you can say, ‘Oh, it was a bad season’. But for performances some people say, ‘Oh, it’s a disgrace, it is a disaster, it’s unacceptable,” Guardiola said.
“No, during 90 minutes it’s one bad afternoon when they were better.
“But I would say – I’m sorry, I want to defend my club, especially in these modern days when everyone is expecting us not [only] to be relegated, to be disappeared off the face of the Earth, the world – that we have better afternoons than the opponents. That’s why we win a lot.”
It is alleged City breached the Premier League’s financial rules between 2009 and 2018. The club has won eight league titles, multiple cups and the Champions League since their 2008 takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group.
City were charged and referred to an independent commission in February 2023 following a four-year investigation.