Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has insisted that he has no intention of leaving the club amid the numerous financial charges imposed by the Premier League.
The 52-year-old has faced the media for the first time since the reigning Premier League champions were charged on Monday with breaching over 100 financial rules after a four-year investigation.
The charges against the Citizens relate to financial information regarding revenue, sponsorship income and operating costs and they are said to have taken place across nine different seasons between 2009-10 and 2017-18.
Just a few hours after the announcement was made, Man City released a statement expressing their 'surprise' at the Premier League's allegations considering their "irrefutable evidence" in support of their position.
Should the independent commission find Guardiola's side guilty of the breaches, they could face unprecedented sanctions including transfer bans, points deductions or expulsion from the Premier League.
Man City were fined £25m and handed a two-year Champions League ban by UEFA in February 2020 for "serious breaches" of club licensing and financial fair play regulations between 2012 and 2016.
However, the ruling was lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and their fine was reduced to £9m as 'most of the alleged breaches were either not established or time-barred.'
A recent report claims that Man City chiefs expect Guardiola – who signed a new contract in November until 2025 – to have already left the Etihad Stadium before any potential sanctions are levelled against the club.
The Spaniard has also been linked with a possible switch to Paris Saint-Germain, with Fichajes claiming that the Ligue 1 giants will consider dismissing current boss Christophe Galtier to make room for Guardiola to take the reins.
Last season, Guardiola vowed to leave Man City if they were proven guilty and if he were to discover that club chiefs have 'lied' to him about the club's financial dealings.
"I said to them: 'If you lie to me, the day after I am not here. I will be out and I will not be your friend anymore," Guardiola told reporters in May last year. "I put my faith in you because I believe you 100% from day one and I defend the club because of that."
However, Guardiola has since reassured Man City fans, stating that his future will not be impacted by the Premier League charges.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Guardiola said: "Hopefully the reason they are going to sack me is the results. It is the reason managers leave their position or stay in their position and I think in that situation we will decide together, because of the confidence and trust that we have in each other.
"But I am not moving from this seat. I can assure you more than ever that I want to stay. Sometimes I have doubts, seven years already is a long time in any country. Now I don't want to move. Not because people say they lied to you Pep. They didn't lie to me.
"Look what happened with UEFA. I said to them: 'what happened?' Pep, we did nothing wrong. We proved it. It is the same case. Why should I don't trust my people? Why should I trust the CEOs or the owners of the 19 clubs, the nine clubs like it was with UEFA? No, I trust my people. Between them and my people, I trust my people. Not one second for the other ones."
Guardiola is "fully convinced" that Man City are "innocent" and believes that his players are focused on Sunday's Premier League clash with Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium as they attempt to close the five-point gap to leaders Arsenal. body check tags ::
