Manchester City will learn the outcome of their hearing regarding the 115 charges of alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules next month, according to Pep Guardiola.. The charges, which date back to 2009 and run until 2018, have been hanging over the club for two years and threaten to delegitimise City’s success during that period. The Citizens have vehemently disputed the charges and pled their case in a hearing held between September and December last year.. If found guilty, City could face a range of severe penalties, including a transfer ban, points deduction, and even relegation from the Premier League. Last month, the club spent over £180million on new players – their highest-ever January transfer window expenditure.. The huge outlay has raised questions about the motivation behind the spending. Some believe the threat of an impending transfer ban may have prompted the spree, while others argue that the splurge reflects confidence in avoiding punishment.. Guardiola offered little clue as to what the upcoming verdict might be when speaking to reporters ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup fourth-round clash with Leyton Orient. He did, however, play down talk of City’s January transfer activity being pre-emptive, explaining instead that the club had freed up funds by selling smartly.. “In one month, I think there will be a verdict and a sentence,” the Spaniard said. “After that, we will see my opinion of what happened so far.”. Pep Guardiola insists he will stay on at Man City even if they’re relegated to non-league (Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images). He added: “My words will not convince people. I know with this club it is always ‘just about the money’. But in the past five years, we are the last among the top six for net spend. Even after what we have spent in this transfer window, we are away from Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham. Even from Liverpool. The only reason why is we sell a lot in the last seasons.”. In the past three months, both Guardiola and Erling Haaland have committed their futures to City, with the former signing a two-year contract extension and the latter penning a new nine-and-a-half-year deal. Many believe this signals the club’s confidence in avoiding severe punishment in the coming weeks, although both Guardiola and Haaland have insisted this isn’t the case.. “I said six months ago when all the clubs accused us of doing something wrong, what happens if I get relegated: I will be here,” Guardiola said in November. “We will come back to the Premier League [if that happens]. I knew it then, and I feel it now.”. Erling Haaland signed a new nine-and-a-half year contract at Man City last month. Speaking in January, Haaland said he was “confident” that the club “knows what they’re doing”, and that he hadn’t considered any contingency plan in the event City are relegated. “I haven’t thought of that or anything,” the Norwegian told reporters.. “I’m confident that the club know what they’re doing. In the end, I really don’t think I should speak too much about this because I’ve [only] been here for two-and-a-half years. I’m confident that the club knows what they’re doing.. “Of course it [contract length] is a bit unusual. It’s not normal. That’s also something I like. In the end it felt good for both parties. It was an easy choice.”. Manchester City have vehemently denied the charges levelled against them (Image: CameraSport via Getty Images). The charges City are facing span issues such as inflating sponsorship deals, failing to provide accurate financial information and falling foul of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability regulations (PSR). They’re are also accused of deliberately misleading authorities in an attempt to circumvent the league’s financial rules.. Despite the damning indictments, Guardiola has insisted City are innocent until proven guilty and should be treated as such. He also tried to distance the case from himself and his players, saying earlier in the season: “I don’t talk about it.. “We are not lawyers. What is going to happen is with the independent panel and we will accept the sentence. I know there will be more rumours about the sentences that come up and we’re going to see. But I’ve said everyone is innocent until guilt is proven, so we will see.”. Sign up to our City newsletter so you never miss an update from the Etihad Stadium this season. The legal battle intensified on Friday after City launched a new legal challenge over what they describe as ‘unlawful’ sponsorship rules. The club were defeated in November last year when the majority of top-flight sides voted in favour of changes to the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules following a legal challenge by City last summer.. APT rules are in place to prevent clubs from receiving massive amounts of money (amounts deemed above ‘market value’) from companies which are affiliated with them. An independent tribunal earlier in the year found that the existing rules that were in place were unlawful, but the amendments voted through have since tightened the rules.
