Enzo Maresca ‘trusts’ Man City boss after seismic Premier League verdict: ‘What happens if we win the appeal?’ originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Enzo Maresca insists he would “100%” have taken the job to succeed Pep Guardiola at Manchester City this summer, even if the club had already been found guilty in their Premier League charges case.
City face a hostile trip to Anfield to face Liverpool on Sunday, their first match since the Premier League announced during the international break that the 10–time English champions had been found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period between 2009/10 and 2017/18. Maresca claims not to have read the verdict.
An array of punishments are potentially on the table after the seismic verdict, which City have announced their intention to appeal. Those include a huge points deduction to guarantee relegation – Maresca’s team are currently top of the table after five wins from five matches this term – or even expulsion from the competition.
“I won the Championship with Leicester, so in case,” Maresca grinned at his Friday press conference, when he was reminded of Guardiola saying he would manage City in the lower league if they had been punished when the Premier League’s disciplinary process started during his tenure. “League One? We are going see, but we are thinking about something we don’t know.”
Beneath the relaxed and jovial demeanour that Maresca maintained throughout a particularly atypical pre-match briefing, there were echoes of Guardiola’s old steel from when he fronted questions regarding City’s long-running battles with football’s authorities.
“What happens if we win the appeal?” he asked rhetorically and unusually with a smile on several occasions. Having worked as Guardiola’s assistant during City’s treble-winning season of 2022/23, Maresca dismissed the suggestion that the achievements of that playing squad were tainted.
“100% [I would be here if City were guilty in the summer],” he said. “I trust the club because I trust the people, and this is also the reason 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 said many times since day one.”
Guardiola will be in attendance when City host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League this week, a move widely interpreted as an act of solidarity with the club – circling the wagons at a time of grave crisis.
But first there’s the matter of a baying Anfield, a ground where Maresca’s predecessor generally struggled, and the club that arguably feels more aggrieved than any other over City’s now-questioned era of dominance.
“I am always concerned, not just Liverpool. I will be concerned also about Ipswich [City’s next Premier League home game],” he said. “I know Anfield is a nice pitch, probably will be even more ‘warm’ in terms of the environment. But the reason I decided to be a manager is for this kind of game.”
“It will be a tough game for sure, but we need to be ready. The focus has to be about the game, but we know that the environment in Anfield is nice – probably even worse for the situation but, again, it will be our duty to try to do our best and win the game.
“Absolutely, they can face the pressure. We have players who have experience of similar situations. Enzo Fernandez played in Argentina. In Argentina, almost every game is like you go to Anfield.”
Maresca’s calmness and playing of the club’s line should not be mistaken for delusion. He understands both the anger that has erupted in City’s direction since the verdict and the severity of his club’s predicament.
“Just try to manage the noise. We understand the seriousness of the situation; we understand the noise, 100%. It is something serious. We need to manage that, focus on what we can do, prepare the game in the best way and try to go to Anfield and win.”
No one will truly know the volume and ferocity of that noise until the teams step out in front of the Kop on Sunday. Forthcoming trips to Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are likely to be similarly cacophonous. For now, Maresca appears entirely comfortable with his approach of smiling through the storm.
MORE: What does Man City guilty verdict mean for Pep Guardiola’s legacy
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