Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has urged fans to remain united and positive following the club’s guilty verdict over serious breaches of Premier League financial rules.
Haaland made the appeal in his first public comments since an independent commission found City guilty of financial rule violations spanning nine seasons, from 2009/10 to 2017/18.
“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 always have to have a smile,” he said.
The Norwegian striker also urged supporters to look ahead and focus on winning matches despite the uncertainty surrounding the club.
City have appealed the verdict, insisting they are innocent and arguing that the commission’s judgment contains “clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.”
The commission found that the club used misleading commercial agreements to inflate revenues and reduce costs, while also breaching financial reporting and cooperation rules.
Haaland’s comments come ahead of City’s Premier League clash with Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, October 11, as the club seeks to put the off-field controversy aside and focus on football.
