“We will fight.” Manchester City captain’s message after the club was “financially condemned”

Manchester City club captain, Ruben Diaz, commented on the decision of an independent committee to convict the club of committing serious violations of the financial regulations of the English Premier League. The committee had found that the Citizens team, between the 2009/2010 and 2017/2018 seasons, used “fake trade to inflate the club’s revenues.”

It found that he had provided “misleading accounts” and concealed “the true status of his funds from auditors and football regulatory bodies,” in addition to his “non-cooperation” with the Premier League’s investigation. Later, Manchester City confirmed its innocence of these charges, and filed an appeal against the committee’s decision.

In a press conference held on Tuesday, Diaz said in response to the club’s latest crisis: “Specifically, in terms of what is happening, I would say as in any other year, being captain of your team means being there for whatever is needed.” He added: "Maybe it will be a different challenge this time. I am here for it, and so are the other three captains, as well as the rest of the team."

The 29-year-old confirmed: “We will defend the club, and we will fight for it, and we trust the club.” He continued: “When the news spread (of the club’s condemnation), we felt that we had to have a conversation immediately upon our return. We did that so that everyone would be aware of the matter and to reassure our hearts, and then we moved on from the matter.”

He added: “It is clear that this happened at a moment during which we were not together (the international break), but we quickly communicated with each other, quickly found calm, and moved forward.” Robin Diaz's teammates will meet Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, next Wednesday, as part of the second round of the league stage in the Champions League.