Pep Guardiola is confident Manchester City will not receive a Champions League ban despite a UEFA investigation into a possible contravention of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
An independent investigation was opened by European football’s governing body into the Premier League champions following allegations published in German magazine Der Spiegel and reports claim City could be banned from the competition if FFP rules have been flouted.
“We will not be banned, no,” Guardiola told a news conference ahead of City’s clash with Chelsea on Saturday. “That’s what I think because I trust in my chairman, [Khaldoon Al-Mubarak] with my CEO, [Ferran Soriano] what they have explained to me.
“I trust in them. If it happens, because UEFA decide that, we will accept it and move forward.”
Meanwhile, the City boss says his side’s victory at Chelsea was a crucial moment for their record-breaking title season. Kevin De Bruyne, recently named the best attacking midfielder in the world 100, scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in September 2017, which was City’s first away to a title rival and helped them to a record-breaking 18-game winning streak.
“Last season winning there was more than three points, it showed we could do it,” Guardiola said. “It was an important step for last season, the first important game away against the last champion. In that moment, it was important to say we can go anywhere and deliver a good performance — winning and with a good performance.
“And since we have continued in that vein and the target is to try to do it again. In these sort of games of course we want to win but I’m more focused on our behaviour. How we are as a team on those sort of stages. That’s what I want to see from my team.”
De Bruyne was instrumental in that victory but he has already been ruled out of Saturday’s game with a knee injury along with striker Sergio Aguero, who has a slight muscle strain.
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