Gary Neville suggests Man City’s 115 FFP charges will always cloud Pep Guardiola’s claim to be the best Premier League manager of all time.

Gary Neville has suggested that Pep Guardiola’s relative success in the Premier League will always be overshadowed by the 115 charges brought against Manchester City for alleged breaches of financial rules.

The Citizens are still awaiting the outcome of the 115 charges – strongly denied by the club – which include failure to provide accurate financial information between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, failure to provide accurate player information and coach. payments during the same period and alleged breaches of Premier League and UEFA financial rules.

In total, 35 relate to a lack of cooperation with the Premier League’s investigations into the matter between December 2018 and February 2023. The date for City’s hearing has not yet been confirmed and, with legal challenges and appeals , it should drag on for several more years.

As such, many have argued that City’s recent successes will always come with an “asterisk”, while others, such as Ian Wright, have claimed it is “unfair” that their titles are so overshadowed as the 15-month wait for a resolution continues. .

Neville, speaking on the Stick To Football podcast presented by Sky Bet, was discussing whether Guardiola could be considered the best manager of all time in the Premier League, but suggested there would always be a ” but” until a result is achieved.

Pep Guardiola won his sixth Premier League title as City manager and the club’s eighth overall.

Gary Neville has suggested Man City’s 115 FFPs will damage Guardiola’s claim to be the best in the Premier League until a result is achieved.

“What Pep (Guardiola) has done, even in a short time, you can’t deny that if someone put Pep at the top (premier league history manager), I wouldn’t say you’re in breakdown, I would just say Sir Alex (Ferguson).

“If someone said Pep Guardiola was the best, I wouldn’t say you’re wrong. I’ll probably go with Sir Alex (Ferguson) anyway, won’t I, and I certainly don’t want to mention the 115 charges (against Manchester City), but until that is clear, I think we have to have a little bit of a ‘but’ until it is clear.

He added: “You measure him as the best based on his success, but his success would have been built on a foundation that broke the rules if they were found guilty. This is the basis.

The accusations have been hanging over Man City’s head for over a year now and have provided many fans with ammunition to damage the club’s success.

In his column for the Daily Telegraph, Jamie Carragher also claimed the accusations “created a legal minefield with the club disputing every allegation”, before labeling the ongoing issue a “PR disaster” for City.

Premier League CEO Richard Masters said a trial date for the Man City case had been set for January, but the date has not yet been revealed.

Mail Sport reported last year that the ‘trial of the century’ was scheduled for late 2024, with a verdict not expected until at least summer 2025.

After Guardiola’s side beat West Ham 3-1 to win another title, finishing two points ahead of Arsenal, Wright stressed that more clarity was urgently needed, telling BBC Match of the Day: “I think it’s unfair, with the uncertainty surrounding it.”

Ian Wright told Match of the Day it was ‘unfair’ that the current City squad had financial burdens hanging over them

Neville said Man City’s success could be based on “rule-breaking” foundations if they are found guilty.

“It’s unfair to the legacy these players are building. You watch them that (Netflix) Treble documentary; the drive and determination to try to do what they did is incredible.

“It’s unfair that they have all this around them. The sooner they fix this problem, the better.

Alan Shearer admitted the 115 accusations had cast a shadow over City’s current group of players, who were not there at the time of the alleged breaches.

“It’s not their fault. They just need to go out and play on the football field,” he said.

“The club will have to respond to these accusations. These players have been superb and you can’t take anything away from what they’ve done and achieved.

Gary Neville was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, presented by Heaven’s bet.