Maresca to address Man City stars on Thursday after guilty 115 charges verdict

Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca will get the chance to speak to his players for the first time this Thursday following the Premier League’s landmark verdict. City were proven guilty of 114 of the 115 charges that they faced by an independent commission last month.

On their part, City continue to maintain their innocence and have confirmed that they will appeal the decision. While the row has been ongoing, City have been without the majority of their players due to the extended international break.

Those players on international duty are set to return to Manchester on Thursday, where boss Maresca is expected to speak to them for the first time. Preparations will then get underway for the weekend’s showdown with Liverpool at Anfield.

City’s England cohort will return to the club’s training ground on Thursday just days after Thomas Tuchel had admitted that the case had been a distraction.

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“If I say now it’s not then I can just speak for myself, which would be totally narrow-minded,” Tuchel said. “I think it is a distraction. It is. Let’s say it is a subject. If it’s a distraction, I don’t know.

“It is of course a topic and we speak about it at dinner and at a table of eight or 12 people. We speak about it at breakfast. I know the Man City players get a lot of messages and phone calls and feedback about it.

“Are they worried or concerned? I think that would be a very human reaction if you don’t know what’s going on for the club that you signed. They’re still young. They’re ambitious. They’re told they are totally innocent and don’t know what’s going on. It is a subject.

“I am again not sure if it’s a distraction. I don’t see it when I see them in my meetings. I don’t see it how they behave with other teammates, and I don’t see it in training being a distraction. But it’s a topic. How can’t it be?”

While the vast majority will be reunited on Thursday, it might be a slightly longer wait for Enzo Fernandez, with Argentina set to take on Benin at midnight on Wednesday.

Each player will also surely have Pep Guardiola’s message in their minds, the Spaniard having spoken out in the aftermath of the guilty verdict. Taking to social media, Guardiola said: "I want every single Manchester City fan across the world to know I am here; more than ever.

“I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran, the players, staff, Enzo and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all."