Manchester United legend Gary Neville has suggested that his former club and other “top six” clubs are pushing for Manchester City to be punished due to jealousy and envy.
This comes after a number of charges were brought forward by the Premier League against the English champions.
City are accused of committing a range of financial crimes and breaches over a nine-year period. The case was referred to an independent commission.
The Peoples Person reported that some of the top clubs in the country dubbed the “top six” are pushing hard for punitive action to be taken against City.
These clubs include United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Along with these teams, other Premier League clubs also want City to be kicked out of the top division if found guilty.
City’s financial strength has formed the basis of their success both on and off the pitch.
According to Neville who was speaking on The Overlap, City bosses are determined to prove they have done nothing wrong and they don’t like the idea of the established elite not liking what they are doing.
“Clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal – the historic, traditional big clubs, don’t like this idea of the newcomer coming on the block and doing what they’re doing.
“They may use it in their favour as a siege mentality in the next few months. I’m a bit worried about what’s happening inside the club from a football perspective, and how they’re playing. Something isn’t quite right.”
Neville said, “On the financial side, I do have some sympathy for Manchester City. If you look at what Jack Walker (former Blackburn owner) did in 1992, 1993, 1994, that was financial doping but, it was deemed to be something completely different because he was a local businessman who pumped money into his club.”
The former United man took a swipe at Financial Fair Play rules and claimed that they do little to protect the small clubs from being dominated financially by the smaller clubs.
Neville remarked that when he speaks to Premier League owners, their main concern is that they are no longer dealing with rich local businessmen but individuals and countries with trillions of pounds and to whom money is not an issue.
The former defender opined that if true sustainability was used, United would win the league every year ahead of other clubs due to the enormity of the revenue the Red Devils generate. As per Neville, it would be unfair to the rest.
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