Roy Keane has warned ‘cheating’ Manchester City deserve a harsh punishment after being found guilty of the vast majority of the 115 Premier League charges against them.
The Premier League accused the club of widespread financial doping over an era of sustained success and Daily Mail Sport understands they have succeeded in proving all of the substantive claims.
City have won 26 trophies since the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008, including eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups and the Champions League as part of their 2023 Treble-winning season.
Expulsion and stripping City of their titles are among the sanctions available following the ruling, which the club are set to appeal.
And ex-Manchester United captain Keane told City they will have to ‘take their medicine’ because they deserve to be punished. He also rejected claims from Rodri that the titles and trophies the club won during that time had been ‘deserved’ – despite most of the charges now being proven.
‘It’s about time,’ Keane said on ITV. ‘It has obviously been going on a long time now. I would disagree with Rodri’s messages there. It was the club’s choice – they chose to cheat.
‘Whatever they have won over the last few years, they deserve to be punished. Where we start and finish with that is difficult but they were cheating. They’ve been found guilty of it and they have to take their medicine now. It was a shock to be found guilty of so many of the charges.’
Roy Keane has called for Manchester City to be given a harsh punishment after the guilty verdict
The Premier League have accused City of widespread financial doping over an era of sustained success
Ian Wright also called for the club to be hit with severe sanctions. ‘They should be punished for it,’ he said.
‘They may have been able to experience those memories and all those great times together but when you look at the teams chasing them who were doing it right, it’s not right.
‘What have we taken from Liverpool and Klopp’s legacy, and that team? What could they have experienced? They cheated to get it done and other players have missed out on that.’
City deny wrongdoing and are set to appeal the decision. On Saturday, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said the club is confident it will clear its name.
In a letter to fans, Al Mubarak writes that, despite reporting, the Premier League’s process ‘still has a long way to run’ and adds ‘our confidence in proving the club’s innocence remains as strong as it was when this began’.
In a letter to fans, he added: ‘We have faced challenges before and prevailed.’
Daily Mail Sport also reported the Premier League’s victory over Manchester City will trigger a series of legal claims for as much as £800m – although the case itself may rumble on for another two years.
Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United served formal notices reserving their right to take action in the event that City – who could now face expulsion from the top flight – be found guilty.
Representatives have already begun putting together a case on how much they feel they have a claim for, pointing out that they have lost potential income on the back of City’s cheating.
It is thought that those who feel most badly done to, with Tottenham having missed out on a Champions League spot on a number of occasions, will ask for the biggest sums.
According to those with knowledge of the situation, £200m would not be an outrageous estimate.
