Pundit Gary Neville has said that the 115 charges hanging over Manchester City will always add question marks over Pep Guardiola’s achievements at the club, unless they are found not guilty.
City won their sixth Premier League title in eight years under the management of Guardiola on Sunday. The final day 3-1 win over West Ham also saw them become the first team to lift the trophy four seasons in a row.
While the achievements have been lauded around football, they come with the club having charges from the Premier League for an alleged 115 breaches of financial rules hanging over them.
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The club vehemently deny the charges and are set to defend themselves at a hearing set for the Autumn. Even then, a final decision on an outcome isn’t expected until at least next summer.
If City are found guilty then they could face a severe punishment after both Everton and Nottingham Forest were deducted points for individual breaches in the season just gone. There is a possibility that the club could have titles stripped as well as being expelled from the league altogether.
It’s that uncertainty that Neville says leaves some unanswered questions over Guardiola being considered as the best manager in Premier League history. There is an argument as to if he has overtaken Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson for that accolade.
“What Pep has done, in not even a short period of time, you can’t deny that if someone put Pep top [manager in Premier League history], I wouldn’t say you’re out of order, I’d just say Sir Alex [Ferguson],” Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by SkyBet.
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“If someone said Pep Guardiola was top, I wouldn’t say you’re wrong. I’m likely to go with Sir Alex [Ferguson] anyways aren’t I, and I certainly don’t want to mention the 115 charges [against Manchester City] but until that’s cleared, I think we do have to have a little bit of a ‘but’ until that’s cleared.
“You’re measuring him being the best based on his success, but his success would have been built on foundations that were rule-breaking if they are found guilty. That’s the foundation.”
