Former Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch says “everyone knew” about Manchester City’s alleged financial breaches and believes the club should be relegated from the Premier League after an independent commission found it had broken financial rules.
Manchester City has confirmed it lodged an appeal on Friday against the commission’s verdict, which found that the club disguised payments worth £900m over a nine-year period through a series of “sham” deals.
The 40-page judgment, published on Tuesday, said City had artificially inflated sponsorship agreements and channelled money into the club from its Abu Dhabi owners through concealed payments in an attempt to avoid Premier League spending regulations.
Although the ruling covered the period from 2009 to 2018, Marsch said he believed there had been “inconsistencies” during his own time in the Premier League.
“I think Man City should be punished severely. I think they should have to go down, and by the way, everyone knew about it. Everyone knew,” Marsch told the Guardian.
Marsch, 52, was appointed Leeds boss in February 2022 but was dismissed 12 months later, with the club fighting to avoid relegation. He is now in charge of Canada.
Recalling the summer of 2022, when Premier League clubs published accounts for the 2020-21 season, Marsch said Leeds and Manchester City were the only clubs he remembered reporting profits.
“That summer [2022], us and Man City were the only teams that said we made money,” he said.
“For us, we did make money, because we sold Raphinha, we sold Kalvin Phillips [to City]. We had a lot left over from what we bought.
“At the time, we weren’t in a position financially to not save. Our ownership didn’t have deep pockets.
“Whereas when Man City says this, I was literally like, ‘Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of joke?’
“When they said they got Erling Haaland for £52m, it’s like: ‘Yeah, OK, sure’.
“So, I knew there were inconsistencies in it, but what can you do? You just put your arms in the air and go, ‘This is football’.”
Leeds recorded an operating profit of £5.5m in that period, helped by their return to the top flight after promotion from the Championship in the previous campaign. Manchester City reported a £2.4m profit after losing £126m in 2019-20.
City’s run to the 2021 Champions League final and their fourth Premier League title under Pep Guardiola were cited as key factors behind that financial performance.
During the 2022 summer transfer window, City signed Haaland for £52m and completed a £42m deal for Phillips. Leeds also sold Raphinha to Barcelona for £55m and used income from the two transfers to fund almost £140m of new signings.
Leeds sacked Marsch in February 2023 and were relegated at the end of that season.
The Daily Mail Sport reported last week that the Premier League could examine transactions made after 2018, the final year included in its investigation into Manchester City.
The club says it “maintains its innocence”, with much of its appeal expected to argue that commercial contracts were paid for by the Abu Dhabi government rather than by the owner.
