Ahead of the game: Manchester City’s furious rivals claim Pep Guardiola’s attack may be libellous

Manchester City’s Premier League rivals reacted angrily on Friday to Pep Guardiola’s outspoken defense of the club’s alleged financial breaches, which many of them consider slanderous.

Guardiola singled out Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and named eight other clubs he said are lobbying against City, which he says has pushed the Premier League into issuing more than 100 charges for breaking spending rules. .

Guardiola’s outburst came a day after City chief executive Ferran Soriano was seen shaking hands with executives from other clubs at a Premier League meeting in London, a disconnect that has gone down badly with other members. of the highest category.

Several club executives have told Sportsmail they strongly deny pressuring the Premier League to take action against City, noting that the issuing of charges earlier this week followed a four-year investigation in which they were not involved.

Levy has received messages of support from other Premier League clubs following Guardiola’s criticism.

Teenage Ace in Blues Record Deal

Chelsea have awarded highly-rated striker Jimmy-Jay Morgan his most lucrative first professional contract after stealing the 17-year-old from Southampton in a deal worth up to £6m last month.

The England youth international was criticized by Saints boss Nathan Jones for turning down the club’s contract offer when he turned 17 in January, but Morgan views the move to Stamford Bridge as a homecoming after previously being in Chelsea’s books.

Morgan only joined Southampton in the first place because his family lived on the south coast and traveling to London for training was proving too tiring. He was named on the bench for the Saints’ Premier League game against Brighton earlier this season.

Anger over United blackout

The Premier League is facing calls from clubs to allow more flexibility in broadcasting live matches in the next broadcast cycle from 2025 to 2028.

Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Leeds on Wednesday was not broadcast live in this country despite only one FA Cup replay being played between Sunderland and Fulham on the same night, a source of frustration at both clubs.

The game was originally due to take place the day before Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September, when it was not scheduled to be televised, before being postponed due to a lack of police resources.

There is no provision in the existing rules for broadcasters to buy additional games that are rearranged, a situation many clubs consider outdated and unsatisfactory, particularly given all the postponements caused by the Covid pandemic in recent years.

Beeb’s Wrexham Porch Bug

Sheffield United striker Billy Sharp would have been better advised to focus his anger on the BBC rather than the Wrexham players, whom he angrily accused of seeking an FA Cup fifth round tie against Tottenham after they the Championship team beat them in the fourth round on Tuesday.

The BBC had more than one eye on the possibility of Tottenham visiting National League club Wrexham as they decided to leave their makeshift TV studio at the Racecourse Ground following their 3-3 draw against the Blades in the opening tie. last month. The pop-up TV gantry has yet to be removed two weeks into the game.

FA’s olive branch for Lianne

The FA invited Lianne Sanderson to the Women’s Finalissima between England and Brazil at Wembley in April in a bid to rebuild bridges with the former Lionesses striker.

Sanderson, 35, was upset that she was turned away from a gathering of hundreds of former players at England’s friendly against the United States in October, plus her name was misspelled on the day’s programme.

The FA apologized at the time and invited Sanderson to be its guest at another high-profile match, the first competitive meeting between the European and South American champions in a new initiative organized by UEFA and CONMEBOL. Sanderson has yet to respond to the invitation.