One man who will have no sympathy for Manchester City after they were charged by the Premier League over alleged financial breaches is former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
City said on Monday that they were "surprised" to have been charged by the Premier League with 101 alleged breaches of financial rules spanning from 2009/10 to 2017/18. The announcement follows a four-year Premier League investigation and has left Pep Guardiola's side potentially facing serious punishment.
The reigning champions are locked in what is shaping up to be an intense title race with Wenger's former side, with the Gunners currently boasting a five-point advantage while City sit second in the table.
And speaking in 2020 at the Laureus Awards, Wenger spoke about City and Financial Fair Play (FFP), when City were facing sanctions from UEFA.
Pressed for comment on City's situation at the time, Wenger opened by jokingly expressing no sympathy as he laughed: "they bought all my players!"
The Frenchman swiftly added: "I think this is a deep question, sport is to win by respecting the rules, that's what it is all about. We celebrate the best in every sport, but we want to know that they respect the rules.
"If there is no respect for the rules, then it is not real sport so I think that is what's most important, the rules exist so you have to respect them. Once you go into a competition, you sign in by agreeing to accept the rules."
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Wenger has long been an exponent of FFP, and expressed his fears over clubs finding loopholes in financial rules more than 10 years ago, specifically citing City as an example of why rules on spending were necessary.
In 2012, he said: "When you look at what Manchester City have spent and analyse their wage bill, what chance do we have? We are always looking to improve our team, but the reality is we are facing tough opponents on and off the pitch.
"When you look at the budget City are working with, it is incredible. Sometimes you have to be realistic and accept it is not easy for everyone else.
"When FFP comes into English football, everyone will appreciate the benefits. The history of the game in this country shows that smaller teams like Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Derby won the title not so long ago. This could happen again if we did not have one or two teams working with a different budget."
If City are found guilty of breaching the Premier League's financial rules over the course of nine seasons, they could face stiff penalties from English football's governing bodies.
Everything is on the table at this point, from retrospective action and the loss of titles, to points deductions, fines and even potentially expulsion from the Premier League. If the latter were to happen, the Football League would be under no obligation to accept them into the EFL.
Sky Sports have claimed that a number of top-flight sides are against retrospective action, and want City kicked out of the Premier League.
