Exclusive: Man City hero echoes Enzo Maresca after guilty Premier League verdict - "Never ever"

Manchester City 's trophy-laden memories "will never ever" be taken away from the club even if their guilty Premier League verdict is upheld, one Sky Blue legend has exclusively told Sports Mole. Last month, the Citizens werefound guilty by an independent commissionof breaching all charges relating to serious breaches of the league's financial rules and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the investigation.

Man City have been accused of arranging "sham" contracts with several of their commercial partners to disguise secret funding of more than £830m and artificially inflate revenues between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. Although Premier League CEO Richard Masters has said that the findings show that Man City "systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade," the Citizens continue to plead their innocence.

Man City say that "a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists" and they have subsequentlylodged an appealin an attempt to clear their name. Maresca repeatedly stated thathe "completely trusts" the cluband "when" they win their appeal he will speak further on the matter.

The Italian coach - who was part of Pep Guardiola 's backroom staff during their historic treble-winning campaign in 2022-23 - also emphasised how Man City's title triumphs have "absolutely not" been tainted by the guilty verdict. This comes after former Man City captain Kyle Walker stated that a guilty verdict"can't take away" the memoriesboth players and fans have of the club's success.

Dickov: 'Man City memories will never be taken away' Man City hero Paul Dickov - known for his iconic goal in the 1999 Division Two play-off final - agrees with Maresca and Walker, insisting that memories of the glory days are locked in forever for all those associated with the club. The Citizens won 20 trophies during Guardiola's legendary 10-year spell at the Etihad Stadium, including six Premier League titles, five EFL Cup's three FA Cups and one Champions League.

Asked if everything City have achieved becomes meaningless if the guilty verdict is upheld, Dickov told Sports Mole: "You can't take memories away. I was there in Istanbul for the Champions League final with my boys who, when they were born, I was at City, and they were brought up to be Manchester City fans.

And then people always talk about the (Sergio) Aguero moment (in 2012), and the Aston Villa game, last game of the season (in 2021-22), where we were 2-0 down. So the emotion, the raw emotion of that day and seeing what it did to the fans, families, grown men, grandparents, children, that moment, regardless of what happens, will never, ever be taken away.

Myself as a fan, my two boys, who are City fans, I know that as well." Dickov delivers verdict on Man City "trust" Sharing his thoughts on public statements made by City pleading their innocence, Dickov added: "I've got to say, all we can do is trust in what the owners are doing and trust in what they're saying until the outcome is there. I think they've been very strong in the statement and I wouldn't expect anything less because, as I've always said, they're good people.

They obviously feel that they've got really good grounds to appeal and, obviously, they're standing up to it."