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Haaland calls for unity after Man City guilty verdict
Steve Douglas •  October 9th, 2026 7:32 am
Erling Haaland has called for Man City to pull together as a club amid their current crisis | Photo: AP
Erling Haaland has called on everyone at Manchester City to "stick together" in his first public comments since the club was found guilty of large-scale financial rule-breaking in the Premier League.
City will play Liverpool on Monday (NZ Time) in their first match since the publication of an investigatory panel's verdict that City artificially inflated revenue by more than $1 billion (AUD) from 2009-18 to circumvent financial fair-play rules that restricted rival clubs.
City were found guilty by the panel of all 80 of the serious financial charges brought by the Premier League and could be hit with severe sanctions — including being expelled from the top-flight. City have lodged an appeal against the findings.
Asked what his message would be to City fans travelling to Anfield, where a hostile reception awaits the team, Haaland said: "We have to stick together, we have to stay with each other, and we have to stay positive.
"No matter what happens in life, we have always have to have a smile. So we have to stay positive, look ahead and try to win football games and then try to enjoy the situation and the game."
City manager Enzo Maresca is likely to face more severe questioning on Friday when he holds his pre-match news conference with reporters.
It will be Maresca's first remarks on the scandal, with domestic soccer having been on hold for the past three weeks because of an extended international break.
As managers began to get asked about the hottest topic in world soccer, trust Jose Mourinho to find the funny side.
Jose Mourinho jokes about whether he'll still be alive when Man City's legal fight is finished | Photo: AP
The Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho joked that he may not live to see the end of City's ‌legal battle with the Premier League.
"I ​would rather laugh about it," Mourinho said, when asked about the case ​in an ‌interview with Corriere dello Sport.
"I think we will eventually get an ​ending, but we are both in our 60s and we'll need to be lucky enough to still be around when the final ​verdict ​arrives.
"There will be a ​verdict, then appeals, then more appeals."
