Wayne Rooney does not believe it would be appropriate for Manchester City to be stripped of titles for breaching Premier League financial rules, even if it gave him another Premier League winner’s medal, as that would be unfair of the City players and staff whose endeavours secured success.
City are waiting to find out what sanctions they will face after being found guilty of more than a hundred charges, with an array of potential punishments on the table. Rooney was part of the United squad in 2011-12 that finished second to City on goal difference after Sergio Agüero’s last-minute winner secured the Premier League trophy for Roberto Mancini’s side on the final day.
City continue to deny any wrongdoing and are confident of overturning the verdict on appeal.
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable about accepting another Premier League medal if I’m being honest, because I don’t think we deserve it,” Rooney said on the Stick to United podcast. “We didn’t do enough that season to win the league. I’m thinking as their players, they’re doing everything they can to win the Premier League title and in their minds they’ve done it. And if that happened to me, if all of a sudden Manchester United have been doing the same and I’m getting my Premier League medals taken away from me, I’d be absolutely devastated.”
Rooney would still want City punished if they are ultimately guilty of wrongdoing. “I’d put them in the lowest league they can go in and then put restrictions on them in terms of how much money they can spend for the next three or four seasons,” the former England captain said.
Javier Tebas, the La Liga president and a longtime critic of City, wants the punishment to fit the crime. “We’re trying to make football sustainable and clean across all competitions,” he said at the Peak Performance + Health Summit in London. “As many clubs are saying, titles were lost that shouldn’t have been lost to other clubs. What has happened is very important, and we hope it marks a turning point, not just for the Premier League.
“The Manchester City case has implications across Europe. There should be a punishment that sets an example. Breaking them [the rules] for more than 10 years ... is very serious. The punishment should therefore be severe, not only to set an example, but because the rules were broken.”
