Enzo Maresca says he is ‘very calm’ despite Manchester City’s seismic guilty verdict and has claimed the club’s players ‘don’t care too much about the noise’.The Premier League giants have appealed a devastating independent panel verdict that they broke competition rules over a nine-year period by illegally pumping in more than £900m, and are currently awaiting a sanction that could see them relegated, with trophies stripped.Speculation has been rife that City’s stars may soon be forced to seek an exit from the Etihad Stadium over what could be a potentially-crippling few months.But Maresca, whose side return to action for the first time since the verdict was made public at what is sure to be a hostile Anfield on Sunday, believes City will prevail and has attempted to play down concerns. In an interview with club media on a day when chief executive Ferran Soriano is understood to have addressed players returning from the international break, he sounded a defiant note. ‘Personally, I’m very calm to be honest,’ he said. ‘The club has been quite clear. We trust completely the club. We understand the noise but the focus for us is just what we can control and we can control just the football side.’ Enzo Maresca (pictured arriving to training on Thursday morning) insists he is ‘very calm’ about Manchester City’s situation with the Premier League despite being found guilty The City boss says he ‘trusts’ the club completely as they await their appeal against sanctionsSome have wondered what the impact of the verdict, which raises huge questions over a glittering period in City’s history from 2009 to 2018, will have on the likes of Erling Haaland and Eliot Anderson.However, the former Chelsea manager attempted to downplay any fears over the atmosphere within his dressing room. ‘The feeling is fantastic, to be honest,’ he said. ‘The players are excited for the next two games. But especially they are excited because in this moment we are top of the league.’Maresca added that his squad’s concentration remained on the pitch, despite all of the noise around the club.’The players are just focused on that (football),’ he said. ‘They know what we can control is the football side – they are not worried at all about different things. They know their profession and they know that the noise is there, but they don’t care too much about the noise.’City are in for a noisy afternoon in Liverpool, with previously reporting how police on Merseyside have a plan in place while some fans are planning to provide a ‘welcoming party’ to the visitors as they arrive for the 4.30pm kick-off.But Maresca, who will face the media on Friday, is hoping for a repeat of last year’s victory.’They (the players) are just focused in this moment on how we can bear Liverpool and how, together with the fans, we can try to win in Anfield.’ Marc Guehi kept a low profile as he drove into Man City’s training ground for the first time since September Josko Gvardiol returned to Manchester after facing off with England for Croatia at Wembley Summer signing Elliot Anderson arrived around lunchtime after returning from England duty Antoine Semenyo and Ayyoub Bouaddi were also on parade as they returned to their clubWhen asked by if he had a message for City fans, he asked for their support. NOTTINGHAM FOREST BOSS OLIVER GLASNER ON MANCHESTER CITY Oliver Glasner has urged football chiefs to wrap up the Manchester City case quickly or risk fans turning their backs on the Premier League.City were found guilty of all but one of their charges of breaking financial rules in a bombshell verdict that has rocked English football. The club have appealed against the findings that they artificially inflated commercial revenues by £830million through ‘sham’ contracts with a range of Abu Dhabi-based companies.City were charged with 115 financial breaches in February 2023 and three-and-a-half years passed until the verdict. Nottingham Forest boss Glasner is hoping for much swifter timeline now.Glasner said: ‘Let’s wait until the final verdict is spoken, but my wish is just that this is quick. When I was at Crystal Palace, we didn’t know until 10 days before the European competitions started whether we would be playing in the Conference League or the Europa League.’And that’s why I think this must be [completed] as soon as possible. There is still damage for the Premier League, not just in England. It’s a big topic all over the world, especially in Europe. The most important thing is the integrity of the league because as soon as the fans can’t trust it, they won’t watch it anymore.’Glasner was in charge of Palace when they beat Manchester City in the 2025 FA Cup Final. He takes his new club to Selhurst Park to take on the Eagles on Sunday.By Tom Collomosse <!- – ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/sport/football/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 – ->
‘Anfield away, we’re going to bring our [patience], we’re going to bring our gameplan. But for sure we need their voice, their [patience]. In the last two days I watched last year’s game at Anfield and the celebration at the end was fantastic. ‘We need to be all together. I said many times the reason why this organisation in the last 15 years was top was because from the owner, the CEO, the sporting director, the manager, players, fans, they are all on the same page. And this is fantastic.’The Italian was also quizzed by the in-house team on whether the motto on the club’s former crest ‘Superbia in Prelio (Pride in Battle)’ was particularly significant during these deeply troubling times.’Yes, Superbia in proelio – Latin, Italian, we are quite close on that,’ he said. ‘It’s what we need. We know that the next two games are going to both be battle, especially Anfield away. ‘We’re going to bring all our [patient] feeling there. But at the same moment we need our fans with us. We need their patience and their voice and hopefully at the end of the game we can all be happy.’Meanwhile, Haaland has urged fans to keep the faith and ‘enjoy the ride’ despite the ruling, which found them guilty of more than 100 breaches of the Premier League’s rules.The Norwegian told Sky Sports that he believes fans will ‘have a good time’ at Anfield. ‘We have to stick together,’ he added. ‘We have to stay with each other and we have to stay positive no matter what happens in life – we always have to have a smile. We have to stay positive, look ahead and try to win football games and then try to enjoy the situation and win the game.’The prolific striker also called for unity within the club. ‘We have to stick together and we have to spread the love to each other,’ he said. ‘Stick together and enjoy the ride and smile.’ Erling Haaland has urged Manchester City to ‘enjoy the ride’ following their guilty verdict Elsewhere, Real Madrid boss and fierce City critic Jose Mourinho does not expect a conclusion or sanctions around the case any time soon.’I’d rather laugh a little bit because I think that we are yet to have a final decision,’ he told Corriere dello Sport. ‘There will be a final decision, but I’m in my 60s and will be lucky to be here when that final sentence comes.’The majority of Maresca’s squad spent time on international duty during the break, with the manager himself only returning to the Etihad Stadium on Monday ahead of meeting up with his group for the first time. COVENTRY CITY BOSS FRANK LAMPARD ON MANCHESTER CITY Frank Lampard believes Manchester City players will always feel like champions even if their titles are scrubbed from the records.City were found guilty of all but one of their charges of breaking financial rules in a bombshell verdict that has rocked English football. The club have appealed against the findings that they artificially inflated commercial revenues by £830million through ‘sham’ contracts with a range of Abu Dhabi-based companies.Coventry boss Lampard played for City in the 2014-15 campaign and was also with New York City FC, who are part of the City Football Group. He won 13 trophies in his playing career and says City stars will forever cherish their achievements, no matter what the future holds.’I have titles and I don’t have my titles hanging on my wall at home, I have them in my head,’ Lampard said. ‘Most players who have played [know] you are competing against the best in the Premier League.’A lot of things that are out of your control but you are competing against the best and they’re very hard to win.’So I think it would be very hard to take someone’s title away as an individual player. I think they should be in your head as opposed to in a beautiful glass cabinet.’Reflecting on his time in the City orbit, Lampard added: ‘I was offered the opportunity to go to New York at the age of 36, which was an amazing life experience. When Manchester City came along, it was a quick decision. I was probably flattered to go to the champions at the time and play.’I was really well looked after so I can’t come away from that. We played Man City a month ago and I saw lots of friendly faces, and they were as warm as they were to me when I was there.’When you’re playing and competing you don’t think about external things. You think about winning things. We did it at Chelsea and City have done it. Now all these conversations [about City] will happen but I don’t want to be part of them. Being with the City Group was a very interesting time.’By Tom Collomosse <!- – ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/sport/football/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_2 – ->
Man City lodged their appeal against the charges, which found that the club had artificially inflated commercial revenues by over £830million between 2009 and 2018, last Thursday evening.The independent commission came to their decision over three years after the Premier League first brought charges against the club, with its 10-week hearing taking place in late 2024.Premier League chief executive Richard Masters claimed in a statement released alongside the bombshell core decision that the club ‘systemically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade’ with their use of ‘sham’ contracts.The club also repeatedly breached duties of ‘co-operation and utmost good faith towards the League’ by failing to help with the investigation. In the core decision, the independent commission deemed evidence given by a number of Man City’s witnesses called on behalf of the club to have been ‘untrue’ and ‘dishonest’.If Man City fail in their appeal, they will face severe sanctions which could include expulsion from the Premier League, future points deductions, stripping of titles and transfer bans.But goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma’s agent Enzo Raiola revealed the Italian – and likely his team-mates – was been given assurances by the club, who still insist on their innocence in the wake of the damning verdict by the independent commission.He told Radio Napoli Centrale, per Calciomercato: ‘Can the Manchester City chaos change anything? No, it won’t change anything for us or for Gigio. News comes out periodically.’The club has spoken to Gigio, and everyone is calm. Now there are important matches against Liverpool and PSG, and then sporting justice will take its course. But Gigio has received reassurances from Manchester City.’Ahead of Sunday’s return to Premier League action, Daily Mail Sport reported on Wednesday that Merseyside Police are braced for fan trouble with some Liverpool fans preparing a hostile ‘welcome’ for Man City’s team bus.One social media post is advertising a ‘Bus Greeting’ around two hours before the 4.30pm kick-off on Anfield Road.Fans are asked to bring ‘flags, banners, pyros, flares, kopparbergs’. A wink emoji is placed after Kopparberg, which is a popular cider served in a bottle.Police are aware of the poster and have said that they will have ‘an appropriate policing plan in place’.Next Wednesday, City will play their first game at the Etihad since they were found guilty and Pep Guardiola will be in attendance in a show of solidarity.The former manager, who left the club at the end of last season, previously shared a message of support for his ex-employers, telling fans: ‘We will get through this together. I love you all.’Guardiola will be joined at the Etihad Stadium by the City board, including chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, for the club’s first home European match since his summer departure.READ MORE: Inside Man City HQ since guilty verdict tore their world apart: Staff abused in the street, Enzo Maresca’s defiant response, agents poring over contract clauses and what confused, nervous squad have been told ahead of trip to Anfield bearpit