Former Leeds manager opens fire on Manchester City: they must be relegated immediately, everyone knew about their cheating
Jesse Marsch, the former Leeds United manager, has insisted that "everyone knew" about Manchester City's cheating, and called for the club to be relegated from the Premier League after it was found guilty of breaching financial rules.
Appointed Leeds manager in February 2022, Marsch lasted just 12 months before being sacked with the club fighting to stay in the Premier League.
Now in charge of Canada, the 52-year-old was asked about a ruling by an independent panel which found that Manchester City concealed payments worth £900 million over a nine-year period packed with "fictitious" deals.
The ruling covered the period between 2009 and 2018. Even so, Marsch said he believed there were "inconsistencies" during his own time in the Premier League.
Manchester City must be relegated
Marsch told The Guardian that Manchester City should be relegated from the Premier League as a result of this ruling.
Manchester City confirmed on Friday that it had submitted an appeal to overturn the independent panel's decision.
Marsch said: "I think Manchester City should be punished severely. I think they should be relegated to the lower division, and by the way, everyone knew about it. Everyone knew."
He continued: "That summer (2022), we and Manchester City were the only two teams that said we had made profits.. for us, we made profits because we sold Raphinha, and we sold Kalvin Phillips. We had a lot left of what we had bought."
He added: "At that time, we were not in a financial position that allowed us not to save. The owners did not have significant financial resources. But when Manchester City said this, I literally said: are you kidding? Is this true? Is this some kind of joke?"
The coach pointed out: "When they said they got Erling Haaland for £52 million, it was like: yeah, OK, sure."
He said: "So I knew there were inconsistencies in it, but what can you do? You just throw your arms up in the air and say: this is football."
Clubs' accounts after the Covid pandemic
The summer of 2022 that Marsch referred to saw clubs disclose their accounts for the 2020-21 season, played behind closed doors because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Leeds announced an operating profit of £5.5 million, their income boosted by a return to the top flight after promotion from the English Championship.
Manchester City, by contrast, announced a small profit of £2.4 million in the same period after recording losses of £126 million in the 2019-2020 season.
A run to the 2021 Champions League final and a fourth Premier League title under Pep Guardiola were cited as the main reasons for the club's financial success.
Marsch's comments also highlighted the 2022 summer transfer window, which saw Manchester City sign Haaland for £52 million and bring Phillips from his Leeds side in a deal worth £42 million.
Leeds also sold Brazilian star Raphinha to Barcelona for £55 million, and the club used the money from the two deals to generate close to £140 million in revenue.
Marsch was gone by February 2023. Leeds went down at the end of the season.
