Guardiola posits rivals want Man City punished as a breach of financial regulations trials begins on Monday
Football manager Pep Guardiola has no doubt Manchester City's rivals are hoping the club are punished for breaching financial regulations.
The Premier League champions are facing 115 charges that they broke the competition’s rules following a four-year investigation.
A long-awaited hearing into the allegations that could last up to 10 weeks is set to begin on Monday, with City potentially facing a hefty points deduction or even expulsion from the league if found guilty.
Javier Tebas, the president of Spain’s La Liga and a longtime outspoken critic of Abu Dhabi-owned City’s financial model, has claimed several Premier League clubs want to see sanctions imposed.
City manager Guardiola, who rarely sees eye to eye with Tebas, feels his fellow Spaniard could be right on this point but, with the club denying any wrongdoing, he has urged them all to be patient and await the outcome.
He said: "Maybe he’s right. For the fact that the Premier League teams want us to be sanctioned, that is for sure.
"I agree with Tebas for the first time, and hopefully the last. I am pretty sure I agree with that.
"I know what people are looking for, I know what they are expecting – I know it because I have read it for many years – but I’ve said everyone is innocent until guilt is proven.
"That’s why I say to Tebas and the Premier League teams wait for the independent panel.
"Justice is there in modern democratic countries, so wait for the decision. It’s not much more complicated than that.
"We believe that we have not done anything wrong, so we go to an independent panel and we are going to wait."
Javier Tebas is a long-time Man City critic.
