Sept. 28, 2026, 8:58 p.m. ET
Mauricio Pochettino has spoken on Manchester City being found guilty of 114 of 115 charges violating the Premier League’s financial rules.
The USMNT manager formerly had the reins at three clubs that were in the Premier League while he was in charge. Besides being at the helm from Tottenham from 2014 to 2019, he coached Southampton for a season and a half from 2013 through 2014 and spent the 2023-24 season as Chelsea‘s manager.
“Where were the controls?” Pochettino told The Guardian in Spanish in an article published on Monday, Sept. 28. “That’s what gets my attention. Where were the controls?”
He recounted his experience with the Spurs, who were building Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during his time there, and how restricted he was financially. The Argentinian questioned if there’s double standards in the league. Manchester City has won the Premier League eight times in 13 years and captured the UEFA Champions League during the 2022-23 season. The club was first charged in 2023 after a four-year investigation that examined incidents from 2009 to 2018.
“I remember building [the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium] and not having the economic possibility of a transfer for 18 months,” he said. “I think we were the only team in the history of the Premier League with 18 months without [making a transfer].
“If a team like us, Tottenham, was fighting for titles with those above us and every year in the top four, getting to the semifinals of Champions League without being able to do a transfer for 18 months, all because we needed to get used to the [Premier League financial controls]? They were so strict with us but also so lenient with others. Because of that, that’s why I say: it’s all very strange.”
The EPL has reportedly not decided on sanctions that will be handed down to Manchester City. The club continues to deny wrongdoing and is expected to appeal the ruling.
“Whatever punishment [they choose], it’s impossible to turn back time,” Pochettino said. “It’s done a lot of damage, more than anything the guidelines. At the end of the day many clubs followed the rules and some didn’t. Maybe they thought that the punishment [wouldn’t come for a lot of years] – what are they going to do? An economic punishment? Docking points? It’s really hard.”
This summer, Pochettino won three matches in the World Cup with the United States, making him the manager with most wins in the tournament in the national team’s history. In their first fixture since the World Cup, the U.S. beat Peru 4-1 in a friendly.
