Pep Guardiola Appears at Paris Fashion Week Amidst Club and Barcelona Scandals
The former Manchester City manager was seen publicly for the first time since his club was charged with financial rule breaches and Barcelona faced renewed allegations.
Pep Guardiola was seen attending Paris Fashion Week, marking his first public appearance since Manchester City was charged with over 100 breaches of Premier League financial rules. The former City manager was photographed alongside his daughter, Valentina, at Victoria Beckham's fashion show on Friday evening.
This sighting comes after a turbulent week for Guardiola, which also saw renewed allegations in the Spanish 'Negreira case' involving former club Barcelona. Approximately 50,000 pages of evidence compiled by Real Madrid were reportedly sent to UEFA, accusing Barcelona of making illicit payments to an influential referees' chief. These allegations cover a four-year period during which Guardiola managed the Catalan side.
Guardiola, who left Manchester City in the summer stating a need for rest and to 'take a step back,' has seen his legacy come under scrutiny. He previously stated his intention to take a break from coaching, saying, "I don’t think so, I will take a while, but I have to prove to myself (that I need a rest)."
Manchester City was found guilty of 'all charges related to serious breaches' of Premier League financial regulations over a nine-year period, including the two years Guardiola was in charge. The charges included allegations of 'sham' deals, artificially inflated sponsorship agreements, and disguised payments from the club's Abu Dhabi owners.
Despite the charges against his former club, there has been no suggestion that Guardiola was complicit in any financial rule-breaking. He publicly reiterated his support for Manchester City earlier this week, stating on social media, "I am, always have been, always will be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran (Soriano, CEO), the players, staff, Enzo (Maresca, manager) and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all."
During his tenure at Manchester City, Guardiola consistently stated that he trusted those in charge of the club and would address any issues if they were proven.
Barcelona has denied any wrongdoing regarding allegations of payments exceeding £7 million between 2001 and 2017 to the former vice president of Spain's technical committee of referees. The club claims the payments were for scouting and technical reports. UEFA has confirmed it received a substantial amount of documents related to the case and will assess them.