In Manchester, City fans 'devastated' while rival fans call for relegation

Manchester City fans told AFP Wednesday they were "devastated" by the verdict on the football club's financial breaches, while supporters of rival clubs called for City's relegation from the Premier League.

An independent commission found the Abu Dhabi-backed club arranged "sham" contracts with a number of commercial partners to artificially inflate its revenues and reduce costs by more than £900 million ($1.2 billion) between 2009 and 2018.

In that time, City won the Premier League title three times and also lifted one FA Cup and three League Cups.

Outside Manchester City's Etihad Stadium, retiree and City fan Mike Roberts said: "I'm absolutely devastated. I'm sad.

"I've been supporting this club for many, many years, since the 1956 FA Cup final. And I just don't know what's going to happen next."

Another supporter, Daniel Reed, a 41-year-old industrial designer, said bluntly the club had been "cheating".

But whatever the punishment, "the fans will always be there behind the team" and "take the brunt of it", Reed told AFP.

Former manager Pep Guardiola on X told fans "we will get through this together", backing the club's owners.

Sports minister Lisa Nandy warned Tuesday "the ultimate sanction is very serious indeed" and a club "can be expelled from the Premier League".

But Prime Minister Andy Burnham, former mayor of Greater Manchester, told the BBC he would be "really concerned" if the owners walked away, highlighting the investment the Abu Dhabi United Group had made in Manchester.

Outside Manchester United's Old Trafford ground, fans of the rival team said they hoped City would be punished by relegation from the Premier League.

"We all knew they were cheating at the time," claimed Paul Griffin, a 57-year-old battery worker.

"The numbers didn't add up, you knew that what City were doing wasn't right, given the gates (ticket revenues) that they had.

"We lost those years -- they gained those years. Stuff happens -- that's football," he added wryly.

"I personally think it should be a relegation," said Corey, an 18-year-old student who supports Manchester United.

Connor Emery, a 25-year-old retail worker who supports Liverpool, agreed. "I would want a relegation, probably a points deduction to get them relegated," Emery said.

But he was sceptical this would happen, adding with a shrug: "It's probably going to be a fine, let's face it".

In initial reactions, former City defender Micah Richards told The Rest is Football podcast he was "absolutely devastated" by the revelations about the club where he started playing aged 14.

"I feel saddened. I feel angry. I feel a little bit confused," he added, citing a lack of information and conflicting accounts after the club's CEO Ferran Soriano slammed the verdict as a "Premier League conspiracy theory" and insisted the club would "be vindicated".

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane said, if he were a City player, he would throw away all the medals.

"They knew it would hurt a lot of people, but they've still done it, and, if I was a player, I'd be 100 per cent sticking those medals in the bin," he told ITV television.