CARRAGHER AND ROONEY DIFFER OVER MAN CITY TITLE STRIPPING

Jamie Carragher has said Manchester City should lose the titles won during the period covered by an independent commission's ruling on financial breaches, while Wayne Rooney has said he does not believe City should be stripped of trophies. The commission, appointed after a four-year investigation into charges dating between 2009 and 2018, found that City arranged "sham contracts" for commercial partners and that the club's income over eight seasons was overstated, with one figure put at more than £830m. City deny the breaches, with chief executive Ferran Soriano describing the process as a "Premier League conspiracy theory" in a message to players and staff. The club has confirmed it will appeal and has until Friday 2 October to do so. City won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, three League Cups and one Community Shield during the period in question.

Carragher told Sky Sports that City's titles and trophies from the period should be removed from the club's record, though he said it was a separate question whether they should be awarded to the runners-up. He said City's conduct meant no one would view the club's trophies and medals the same way again, and that players on opposing sides had been denied the experience of winning a title outright. Rooney, whose Manchester United side finished second to City on goal difference in 2011-12 after a late goal from Sergio Agüero sealed the title on the final day, said on the Stick to United podcast that he would not feel comfortable accepting a winner's medal in City's place, saying "we didn't do enough that season to win the league." He said City's players had done everything they could to win the title and would be devastated to have medals taken away, drawing a comparison with his own team.

Rooney said he would instead want City placed in "the lowest league they can go in" with restrictions on spending for three or four seasons if found guilty of wrongdoing. La Liga president Javier Tebas, speaking at the Peak Performance + Health Summit in London, said the case had implications across European football and that a punishment should "set an example" given the rules were allegedly broken for more than ten years. City has said it is confident of overturning the verdict on appeal.