Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola has ‘not spent one second’ discussing about recent Der Spiegel claims

Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, has “not spent one second” discussing new allegations about his club’s financial dealings.

Der Spiegel, a German news site, published additional charges on Thursday regarding the Premier League’s three-year inquiry into City’s finances.

Some think that the charges have the potential to cause more problems for City, who went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport little over two years ago to reverse a two-year Champions League suspension imposed by UEFA.

After UEFA opened an inquiry into stolen papers released by Der Spiegel in November 2018, alleging that City had overstated the worth of a sponsorship contract, fooling European football’s regulatory body, the club was barred from competing in the Champions League.

While Cas reversed UEFA’s punishment, City were nevertheless strongly chastised for failing to cooperate with UEFA’s investigation, which was deemed a “serious infringement” of regulations.

Others in Manchester City circles believe the new allegations are a rehash of previous charges, and that the timing of their release is more about destabilizing the reigning champions ahead of Sunday’s key Premier League match against Liverpool at Etihad Stadium.

“What comes from the outside is beyond my control,” Guardiola stated.

“I don’t waste a second talking about that [the claims] because you understand what an important week we’ve had with Atletico [Madrid, in the Champions League] and the games we have [coming ahead].”

The latest details, City believes, are a continuation of prior charges concerning Financial Fair Play standards, which they believe are intended to harm the club.

Guardiola has already stated that he trusts the club’s hierarchy when they have told him that the charges are unfounded.

“Of sure,” the City head answered when asked if his position had not changed. “You know my opinion of what transpired in the past.” I support the club because I am aware of the situation.”