Ancient Manchester City Defender Micah Richards says he felt “absolutely devastated” after reading the Premier League’s “damning” guilty verdict over the club’s financial charges.
An independent commission found City entered into “fictitious contracts” with a number of business partners as part of a scheme to hide secret funding of more than £830 million.
The league confirmed that City had been found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, and all but one charge relating to failure to cooperate with the investigation.
The club continues to deny any wrongdoing and has until October 2 to appeal.
During that nine-year period, the Sky Blues won the Premier League three times, with Richards being part of their title-winning side in 2011-12.
“The information was disturbing,” he said on The Rest is Football podcast. “I saw the words used by the Premier League in ‘fictitious contracts’ and felt absolutely devastated.
“I was at this club since I was 14, I would die for this club. I achieved my dream at Manchester City, but to hear these reports, and not just me as a former player, but the fans, what they have to go through, it’s absolutely devastating.”
While Richards was part of the city’s youth academy, he lived in a ‘dig’ with a local family who have long supported the club.
The 38-year-old added: “My dig guy, he called me and he was literally in tears and asked me for information, which I don’t know. I don’t have any answers for him.
“He is someone who has supported the club for around 60 years and the uncertainty surrounding him is nothing short of heartbreaking.
“To have a title of this nature for a club that I love so much has been difficult. If you listen to the reports, they are overwhelming.
“I feel saddened, I feel angry, I feel a bit confused because, on the other side, you have City’s side of the story.”
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said in a statement on Saturday that the club was still confident in its ability to prove his innocence, while on Tuesday general manager Ferran Soriano said in a video message., external to staff and players that “irrefutable evidence” had been “ignored” by the commission.
Gn sports
