Pochettino Delivers Blunt Verdict on Man City Financial Charges

USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino has delivered a harsh verdict on Manchester City's financial charges, suggesting the Premier League was effectively broken during the period the club was found guilty of rule breaking.

City were confirmed guilty of 114 of the 115 charges relating to breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018. In that time, the club won three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and three League Cups, including famous moments like Sergio Aguero's title winning goal against QPR in 2012, all of which now face renewed scrutiny.

Pochettino, who was managing Tottenham during much of that period, knows the contrast well. Spurs famously went 18 months without signing a player at one point while funding their new stadium, finishing third in 2017-18 and second the year before, behind a Chelsea side that has also been found to have broken financial rules.

Speaking through a translator ahead of the USA's friendly with Chile, Pochettino said he was struck by the scale of the verdict against City.

"It's very difficult when out of 115 charges you are found guilty of 114 to know what the punishment should be to make it fair," he said. "Because there are other clubs like Nottingham Forest or Everton that broke rules and received different sanctions, whether point deductions or fines. It's a very difficult situation that causes astonishment given the magnitude of the verdict. And it's also fair to ask where the controls were for the rules to be broken like that. That's what catches my attention the most."

[Man City Could Face Compensation Claims from Premier League Rivals After Verdict]

He also spoke about how the findings cast doubt over achievements from that era, both good and bad.

"It's a very sad situation because what was already achieved and celebrated maybe wasn't real, and what wasn't so good could have been better," Pochettino said. "We have lived through a period where sporting justice did not exist. If the charges are proven, it's very difficult to repair what happened. I hope that at least it serves to ensure equality exists in the future."

Pochettino pointed to his own experience of guiding Tottenham to the 2019 Champions League final on a limited budget as an example of the imbalance he felt at the time.

"That was a big disadvantage because we were fighting among the best teams and reaching a Champions League final [in 2019]," he said. "Why were those controls so strict with us and not as much with others? That's why I say everything is very strange, and the problem is that everything gets clouded. If it's true that they broke 114 rules, we have lived through a period of deceit. No type of punishment will make it possible to repair what was done, and the Premier League's controls are severely damaged."

He also referenced his old title battles with Chelsea while at Tottenham, questioning how those campaigns should now be viewed given Chelsea's own past breaches.

"I said at the time regarding Chelsea's situation when we fought for the title with them while I was at Tottenham, that they were better because they got more points, but by breaking rules. How do you repair that?" he said.

With that firmly behind him, Pochettino's focus now shifts back to his work with the USMNT, who face Chile in a friendly on Tuesday. The United States will then round off their September/October international window with two important continental tests against Mexico and Canada, giving Pochettino further opportunities to assess his squad ahead of future competitive tournaments.