Micah Richards ‘devastated’ by Manchester City financial ruling

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards said he felt “absolutely devastated” after reading the independent commission’s findings, which referred to “sham” sponsorship deals. Speaking on *The Rest Is Football* podcast, he said a City supporter with whom he had lodged as a young player had called him in tears. Richards said he felt saddened, angry and confused, adding that there was also the club’s side of the story. His remarks were reported by BBC Sport and the Press Association on 30 September. [1] [2]

The commission found that City breached Premier League financial rules over nine seasons, from 2009/10 to 2017/18. It found that more than £830m recorded as income should instead have been treated as contributions from the club’s owner. It also upheld most, but not all, of the allegations concerning City’s failure to co-operate with the league’s investigation. [4] [5]

Former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher argued that City should lose titles won during the period covered by the findings and that its owners should leave. Those are Carragher’s proposed consequences, not sanctions imposed by the commission. [3] [5]