Micah Richards ‘devastated’ by Manchester City’s damning financial verdict

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards says he was “absolutely devastated” after reading the Premier League’s damning verdict on the club’s financial charges.

An independent commission found that Manchester City arranged “sham contracts” with commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise more than £830m in secret funding. The Premier League said City were guilty of all charges relating to financial-rule breaches between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, as well as all but one charge concerning a failure to co-operate with the investigation.

City deny any wrongdoing and have until 2 October to submit an appeal. Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has said the club remains confident it can prove its innocence, while chief executive Ferran Soriano told staff and players that “irrefutable evidence” had been ignored by the commission.

Richards: “Absolutely devastating”

Richards, who joined City’s academy at the age of 14 and was part of the squad that won the 2011-12 Premier League title, said the verdict had been painful for former players and supporters.

“I saw the words which were used by the Premier League in ‘sham contracts’ and I felt absolutely devastated,” Richards said on The Rest is Football podcast.

He recalled the reaction of the local family with whom he lived during his time in the academy. “My digs man, he rang me and he was literally in tears and asking me about information, which I don’t know,” Richards said.

“That’s someone who’s supported the club for 60-odd years and the uncertainty around it is just heartbreaking.”

Richards said he felt “saddened”, “angry” and “a little bit confused” because the commission’s findings conflicted with the club’s public defence.

Carragher says titles should be removed

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said City’s players could feel that their achievements had been permanently marked by the allegations.

“They’ll almost feel like a lot of their career is going to have an asterisk, or a lot of people will be calling it a sham,” Carragher said on Sky Sports News.

Carragher argued that City’s titles should be removed from the club’s record, although he said deciding whether they should be awarded to other teams was a separate question. He also said the outcome had affected players at rival clubs.

Discussing the 2013-14 season, when City finished two points ahead of Liverpool, Carragher said Steven Gerrard and his team-mates had been denied the emotional experience of winning the title.

“No-one remembers the medal. Giving trophies or medals back, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s not about medals, it’s about feelings,” he said.

The Premier League case remains subject to City’s appeal, meaning the consequences for the club’s titles and records have not yet been determined.