Every word Maresca said on Man City charges verdict

Enzo Maresca held his first press conference since Manchester City were found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules; Maresca spoke for 15 minutes on Friday ahead of their match against Liverpool on Sunday, live on Sky Sports

Q. You referred to the controversy surrounding City as noise. Is that somewhat dismissive of the genuine anger felt by many towards the findings of the commission? Do you understand the outrage and anger?

First of all, morning. I understand the reason why most of you are here. But the only thing I can say is stuff I already said. There is a process ongoing and, in this moment, I completely trust the club. This is what I can say about that.

Q. Why do you trust the club? Have you sought clarity from them? Have you seen the irrefutable evidence they refer to? Your predecessor, Pep Guardiola, once said if the club is relegated, he would stay. Will you give that commitment as well?

First of all, I trust the club because I trust the people and that is why I joined the club. There is not another club in the world where I would like to be. I'm very happy to be here. I'm very proud, I've said many times since I arrived.

Q. You were here before and you worked with Pep, do the achievements that you had then now look different to you?

Absolutely not. The last time I was here was the treble season. I know the effort from the players, the manager, the club. I know exactly the effort that the club gave to achieve that target. I don't have any doubts about that.

The players, I've said already, we can only control the football side. We are focused on that. This is what we can do and control. We cannot control something different.

Q. Do you share the view of your CEO that there is a conspiracy against the club by the Premier League?

Again, I understand the reason why most of you are here, but the only thing I can say is what I said already that the reason why I joined the club is because I completely trust, 100 per cent, the owner, the CEO, the sporting director, all the organisation. I don't have any doubts about that.

I spoke with the club for sure. Probably the right moment to speak about that is when we're going to win this appeal.

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Q. Have you spoken to Pep Guardiola since the ruling came out?

I spoke with Pep the last time after the Man Utd game, after the derby. That was the last time I spoke with Pep and I know that he's coming on Tuesday.

It's always a pleasure. After 10 years here, he can come at any time he wants, not just for a game, for a training session, at any moment. I think it will be nice for him, for the fans, for everyone.

Q. In May 2022, Pep said that if the club has lied to him, he'll walk away. Would that be the same for you? If it's confirmed, would you consider your position?

I just said, I would like to speak about this situation when we're going to win the appeal. For now, it makes no sense to speak about anything because I don't have much information. I understand the reason why most of you are here because you want to hear something.

Q. To a certain extent, shouldn't it be Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the chairman, or Ferran Soriano, the CEO, answering these questions, because really, as you're saying, it isn't too much to do with you?

Q. You said previously you trust the club totally at the moment, so could that change?

Sorry, that was a wrong answer. I completely trust the club in this moment, in the future, always. Thank you, I can modify the answer.

Q. With this hanging over you for weeks or months, how do you avoid that impacting the season?

You cannot avoid. We completely understand the seriousness of the situation. I'm not saying we don't understand that. We understand, the players understand, but it's our duty, our job to try to control the noise. The managers and the players are focused on winning games, not about something different.

I don't know. We are predicting the future. I'm worried about tomorrow, two days, three days, I don't know what's happening in the future. The only thing I can say is that I think it's fair from my point of view, from all of us, that we respect the process. There is an appeal ongoing, we'll see what happens.

Q. Pep once said he'd be happy to manage in League One. It was a joke but he still said it. I think City fans would be very happy to hear you say the same.

I won the Championship with Leicester so in case of League One, we will see. But again, we are talking about something that we don't know.

Q. At England last week, Thomas Tuchel spoke about concerns that this will affect players psychologically on the City players that were with him. Do you share that?

Seeing the environment in the last two days inside the building, no, I'm not worried at all. The environment with the players is nice. In this moment, we are top of the league, we have every reason to be happy and excited.

Q. Before the international break you won at Old Trafford with 10 men. Is there a bigger test in the Premier League than Anfield?

It will be a tough game for sure, a tough test, as you've said. We need to be ready. The focus has to be about the game but we also know the environment at Anfield is nice and it will probably be even worse because of the situation. Again, it's our duty to do our best and win the game.

Absolutely they can face the pressure. Absolutely. We have players already that have already experienced similar situations. Enzo Fernandez has played in Argentina where almost every game is like going to Anfield. It's not a problem.

Q. You were here in 2022/23 when the charges were first announced and the team then went on to win the treble, how did the players and staff use that news to rally everyone together?

In this moment, it's also a matter of sticking together. As Erling said yesterday, it's true. This is the situation, this is the noise. The most important thing is we continue to do the right things. We are on the same page with the players, the owner, the CEO, the sporting director, the fans. We need to have the passion from our fans, their voice. Hopefully at the end we can celebrate a good win.

Q. Can you lean on your leaders, Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias, to carry the dressing room?

Yeah, they need to help their team-mates. They are doing that. But again, I understand you probably want to hear different words from me but the real words is that the players…yes the noise is there but they are 20, 25 years old. They come, they enjoy the training session, they go home happy, they are top of the league. So the players are relaxed. They are just thinking about how we can beat Liverpool and we are going to try.

Q. You were here before under Pep, can you remember how you handled that at that moment to keep them altogether?

Exactly in the same way. Just try to manage to noise. We understand the seriousness of the situation. We understand the noise completely, 100 per cent it's something serious. But we just need to manage that and focus on what we can do and what we can control. That is to try to prepare the game in the best way and go to Anfield and win the game.

Q. If the commission's findings were published before you joined the club, would you still have agreed to become manager?

Again, I know the organisation from years ago. I know how serious they are. I know they do the right things. I would like to speak about this when we're going to win the appeal.

Q. When joining, did you or them raise the subject of the charges?

No, to be honest. We did not speak about that because I don't think that was a problem for the club at the time. Also because they are thinking in an honest way. I think they are convinced that at the end we are going to win the appeal.