Guardiola speaks after UEFA ban: If Man City don't sack me I'll stay 100 percent
Pep Guardiola is "100 percent" behind Man City following their two-season ban from UEFA competitions and assured he will stay at the club "if they don't sack me".
Pep Guardiola has offered his full support to Manchester City after the club was handed a two-season European ban by UEFA for “serious breaches” of the governing body’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
The Spanish coach made his first public comment since City were slapped with the shock sanction, which the club is set to appeal through the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS).
"The first moment was impact but after a few hours we cannot control, we support the club 100 percent," Guardiola told Sky Sports ahead of Wednesday's Premier League game against West Ham.
The City boss promised to speak more about the UEFA ban in his post-match interview, in which he reiterated his support for the club, while also stating his focus would remain on the field and achieving results as the appeal process gets underway.
“It is not finished. The club believes it is unfair so we are going to appeal and we are going to wait. So all we can do on the pitch is all we have done in the last four years and try and win games. We are going to wait. I trust 100 percent my club what they have done. They have explained to me the reasons why and we are going to see.
“We spoke. We are going to fight, like we fought every single day, until the end of the season. We are optimistic, next season if we qualify for the Champions League, we will be there.”
Quizzed on whether he would remain at the club in light of the ban, he replied: “If they don’t sack me and that can happen, I will stay here, 100 percent. First because I want to stay, it is something special, more than the contract I have. I want to stay to continue to help the club and maintain this level as long as possible.”
City CEO: FFP evidence relied on stolen emails
Guardiola’s comments come hours after City’s CEO, Ferrán Soriano, claimed the evidence collected in the FFP case was “based stolen and out of context emails”, while also questioning the the system and motives behind the ruling.
"In the end, the FFP chamber relied more on stolen and out of context emails than all the other facts that we provided about what really happened," Soriano explained in an interview with Manchester City's own website.
“The way the system works, we could already anticipate a negative result, but when people said that I couldn't believe them.
“We have worked very hard to provide the evidence, and ultimately, based on our experience and our perception, this has gone less from justice and more about politics."
The Premier League club has lodged its appeal with the CAS and will hope the court decides to reduce or completely quash the UEFA ban.