Pep Guardiola said that nothing can overshadow the achievements of his Manchester City team in the last three seasons.
The Blues boss was asked in his press conference ahead of Saturday’s showdown with Leicester whether UEFA’s finding that there were “serious breaches” of their financial fair play rules – which City have appealed – will tarnish the Blues’ successive Premier League titles, with the two highest points totals in English football history, and last season’s unprecedented domestic treble.
Guardiola, who has said he is fairly standing by the club as they fight the two-year ban from European football, was also adamant that there is nothing “tainted” about what he and his team have done.
He said that anyone who thinks that way is entitled to their opinion, but contested it.
“I cannot change that, I know how hard we work and I’m so proud of what we’ve done these years together," Guardiola said.
“I have a different opinion. Nobody has helped us outside, we did an incredible job day by day, game by game and nothing will change the opinion.
“I repeat the same, it’s not finished, it’s not over, we appeal and we see what happens.”
City were found guilty by UEFA after an investigation prompted by the publication of hacked emails by the Football Leaks website, emails which the club claims were taken out of context.
The Blues believe that, not only is the substance of the allegations wrong, but that UEFA have flouted their own procedures in order to carry out their prosecution of the club.
That will all be tested at the Court for Arbitration for Sport, with City expected to lodge an appeal in the next few days.
