Ex-Manchester City defender Micah Richards has expressed his utter devastation following the Premier League’s severe findings against his former club.
The top-flight authority concluded that the club engaged in a scheme worth close to £1bn, using “sham” arrangements to artificially inflate revenue or reduce expenditure in order to bypass league and UEFA financial regulations.
Significant disciplinary actions now hang over the eight-time Premier League champions, though City remain defiant and announced they will appeal immediately.
Appearing on The Rest is Football podcast, Richards said: "The reports were troubling. I saw the words which were used by the Premier League in sham contracts and I felt absolutely devastated.
"I’ve been at that club since I was 14 years old, I would die for that club. I achieved my dream at Manchester City, but then to hear these reports, and not only me as an ex-player, but the fans, what they have to go through, absolutely devastating."
Richards recounted speaking to his former landlord from his youth career at the club, adding: "My digs man, he rang me and he was literally in tears and asking me about information, which I don’t know, I haven’t got the answers to tell him.
"And that’s someone who’s supported the club for 60-odd years, and the uncertainty around it is just heartbreaking.
"To have a headline of this nature for a club that I love so much, it’s been difficult. If you listen to the reports, they are damning. I feel saddened, I feel angry, I feel a lit bit confused because, on the other side, you have City’s side of the story."
The exact punishment City will face remains unconfirmed, but the wider fallout is expected to reach across the entire game.
"There are no winners in this," added Richards. "If Man City do the appeal and they get off, it’s still going to be tarnished. And, if they’re found guilty after the appeal, what happens then?
"And it’s not just Man City fans or Man City players, it’s the whole of the Premier League comes into question. This could be something that goes on for years and years and years."
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane stated that, were he a City player, he would throw his medals straight into the bin.
Speaking on ITV, Keane said: "They knew it would hurt a lot of people, but they’ve still done it, and, if I was a player, I’d be 100 per cent sticking those medals in the bin.
"It’s cheating. You’re hearing nonsense about some ex-players saying, ‘Oh well, they won on the pitch’. Because it was cheating! It was cheating going on."
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher feels sympathy both for City’s squad and rival players missing out on trophies.
"I feel for the players… they’ll almost feel like a lot of their career is going to have an asterisk, or a lot of people will be calling it a sham," Carragher said on Sky Sports News.
"The players were told everything was fine, they would never get done for anything. What the hierarchy are coming out with now, they’re just gaslighting.
"I think the titles should be taken off their (City’s) list. Whether other clubs get them is probably slightly different. City have not just hurt their own players.
"I don’t look at it (a medal) years later, but my mind goes back to moments and feelings in my stomach. Those players will never get that feeling and it was robbed by Man City. No-one remembers the medal. Giving trophies or medals back, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s not about medals, it’s about feelings."
City return to Premier League action on 11 October against Liverpool, who have been their primary rival over the past decade.
"Liverpool are probably the biggest losers in all this," Carragher added. "The atmosphere will be electric. In the last five years, Liverpool v Manchester City has been ‘the’ game of the Premier League."
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