Pep Guardiola savagely digs out former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard over his infamous slip

Pep Guardiola has offered a dig at former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard amid calls for Manchester City to have their titles stripped. 

City were this week charged with 115 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules with the club potentially facing up to a raft of punishments. 

On Friday, in his first appearance in front of the media following Monday’s bombshell revelations, Guardiola came out fighting, including referencing Gerrard’s most infamous moment that in essence handed the Premier League title to City in 2013-14. 

‘I don’t know if we are responsible for Steven Gerrard slipping,’ he said. ‘You know that situation at Anfield?

‘I didn’t want it out of respect for Steven Gerrard, but it’s our fault?’

Pep Guardiola came out swinging in his appearance in front of the media on Friday afternoon

Gerrard’s slip saw Demba Ba open the scoring for Chelsea at Anfield in late April 2014, with Liverpool a matter of games away from lifting their first Premier League title. 

Having lost 2-0 to Chelsea, they travelled to Crystal Palace where they surrendered a three-goal lead to draw 3-3, leaving City to capitalise and win the league.

The City boss added that their ‘moments’, both good and bad, belong to them as a club and cannot be stripped, ‘regardless of the sentence’.

The Manchester City boss referenced Steven Gerrard’s most infamous moment in his argument against the club having their titles retrospectively stripped

‘Those moments belong to us regardless of the sentence,’ he said. ‘The goal from [Sergio] Aguero [2012], the slip from Steven Gerrard at Anfield [2014]. Was that our fault?

‘The Premier League will decide but I know the effort we put in, what we won and the way we won it. If something happened in 2009 or 2010, it is not going to change one second. We lived these moments together for years.’

Guardiola’s insistence that City’s titles will always belong to them came alongside an astonishing defence of the club, in which he accused the other 19 Premier League sides of conspiring in their downfall, said that they had already been ‘condemned’ and pledged his future to the club – stating he was now more committed than ever.

Gerrard’s error allowed Demba Ba in to score for Chelsea with Liverpool going on to lose 2-0

‘My first thought is that we are already being condemned,’ he said. ‘What has happened this week is the same as what happened with UEFA. With UEFA we were condemned.

‘We are lucky we live in a marvellous country where we have a society where everyone is innocent until proven guilty. We didn’t have this opportunity. We are already sentenced and “tough”.

‘I’m fully convinced that we will be innocent, and then what will happen next? Will it stop now?’

Pep Guardiola has won four league titles since joining Manchester City in 2016 – and said the moments belong to the club

Asked whether the charges were driven by the other clubs, Guardiola responded: ‘Yes of course. Nineteen teams are accusing us. You’ll have to go to the CEOs, [Tottenham’s] Daniel Levy, and ask them.

‘These 19 Premier League [clubs] have set a precedent. What they have done to us, be careful with that. Be careful in the future. Many clubs can make suggestions and there are a lot of clubs that can be accused, like we have been accused.

‘They told me before they defend the accusation from UEFA, the club proved we were completely innocent, why should we not think [that] right now when we are being condemned from charges and suggestions?

City won the title on the final day under Manuel Pellegrini following Gerrard’s slip

‘Just in case we are not innocent we will accept what the judge in the Premier League decides, but what happens if in the same situation as UEFA? If we are innocent who is going to come back and return our damage? The damage is now for one decade

‘We are not part of the establishment of this league but at the same time I understand they can do it [accuse] but let us defend ourselves please. So that’s all.

‘They have opened a precedent right now, what they have done to us. Be careful, because in the future many clubs can make suggestions and there are a lot of clubs that can be accused like we are being accused without maybe being innocent.’

‘Hopefully the reason they are going to sack me is the results,’ he added. ‘But I am not moving from this seat. I can assure you, more than ever that I want to stay. Sometimes I’ve had doubts, seven years already is a long time in any country.

‘Now I don’t want to move. Not because people say they lied to you Pep. They didn’t lie to me. Why should I not trust my people? Why should I trust the CEOs or the owners of the 19 clubs? No, I trust my people.’