Haaland calls for unity as City turn focus to Liverpool

8 October 2026 — Erling Haaland has urged Manchester City supporters to remain positive and united as the club challenges an independent commission’s finding that it committed serious breaches of Premier League financial rules.

City have lodged an appeal against the verdict, which was published on 29 September. The club has maintained its innocence, arguing that the commission’s opinion contains material errors of law, principle and fact.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match at Liverpool, Haaland said supporters should “stick together, enjoy the ride and smile”. He added: “We have to stay with each other, and we have to stay positive. No matter what happens in life, we always have to have a smile.”

The forward said he cares about Manchester and its supporters, describing himself as “a fan myself” who feels for them. He also called the Liverpool fixture special, recalling the rivalry between the teams during the Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp eras.

Maresca says players are focused on football

Head coach Enzo Maresca said he was “very calm” and that he trusts the club completely. In an interview with City’s in-house media, he said the squad understands the attention surrounding the case but is concentrating on what it can control.

“The players are just focused in this moment on how we can beat Liverpool and how, together with the fans, we can try to win at Anfield,” Maresca said.

The commission found that City used “sham” commercial contracts as part of what it described as a disguised funding scheme, allegedly inflating revenue by £830m between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. It also found that the club’s accounts concealed the true state of its finances and that City breached Premier League and UEFA spending limits. The commission upheld three of four alleged failures to cooperate with the league.

City have rejected the findings and said they will pursue the appeal avenues available to them. The appeal’s timetable remains uncertain: Sky Sports reported that City could argue that newly introduced rules requiring a quicker appeal process should not apply, since the club was charged in 2023 and the hearing took place in 2024.

With the case ongoing and no punishment yet imposed, Maresca said the players’ attention was on the upcoming fixtures. City travel to Anfield on Sunday to face Liverpool.