Jamie Carragher demands two punishments for Man City after Premier League guilty verdict

Liverpool legend and ex-England defender Jamie Carragher (Picture: Sky Sports)

Jamie Carragher says Manchester City should be stripped of the titles they won during the years they have been found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules.

The Liverpool legend and former England defender also believes Man City’s owners should be removed as their position is untenable.

The Premier League announced in a statement on Tuesday that Manchester City had been found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of financial rules by an independent commission.

Between the period of 2009 and 2018, during which Man City won three Premier League titles, the FA Cup and three League Cups, the club ‘relied on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs’.

The Premier League stated that Manchester City’s sanction ‘will be addressed separately in a further hearing’ but the club maintain their innocence and intend to appeal the verdict.

A number of different sanctions have been raised as possible punishmentsand Carragher is of the opinion that Man City should be stripped of their titles.

However, he does not believe titles should be retrospectively awarded to other clubs, even though his beloved Liverpool would set to benefit from such an outcome.

‘I do think Manchester City’s titles they’ve won in this time, or trophies, should be taken off their list,’ Carragher said on Sky Sports.

‘Whether other clubs should get them is slightly different. But what Man City have done is, they’ve not just hurt their own players in terms of no one looks at their trophies and medals now in the same way…

‘I’ve been very lucky to win a few medals. I never look at the medal years later. But my mind goes back to a moment, I get a feeling in my stomach. I remember the referee blowing a final whistle of a big game.

Man City have been the dominant force in English football over the past decade (Picture: Reuters)

‘Those players will never get that feeling and it was robbed by Manchester City. That’s what they haven’t got. I don’t think any player will care if you go and give them a medal, and he puts it in the house, in his trophy room, he’ll never look at it.

‘It’s not about medals, it’s about feelings, and that’s what Manchester City have robbed.’

Explaining why the biggest scrutiny should be on the bosses at the Etihad Stadium, Carragher added: ‘The club are going to get punished.

‘You’ve got supporters, players, the club and owners. For me this is all about the owners, the people who are at the top of the club.

‘Man City are a wonderful club and have been for a hundred years and will be for hundreds of years going forward. But in terms of what we’re finding out now, I don’t know how the owners can continue in English football.

‘We talk about a fit and proper test for owners. What they’ve done for 10 years – and left this stain that will be there for the next 10 years – it starts because they don’t like the word no.

Current Man City boss Enzo Maresca (Picture: Getty)

‘When you see the statements – the one from [CEO Ferran] Soriano last night – it’s beggars belief what you’re hearing.

‘They have so much power and finance behind them, nobody ever tells them no. Until they move away from the club, I don’t know how this stain is removed from the club.