Jamie Carragher has urged the Premier League to strip Manchester City of their titles and remove the club's Abu Dhabi ownership following Tuesday's landmark guilty verdict on all charges, revealing how Etihad hierarchy "gaslit" their own playing squad with false promises throughout a four-year investigation.
The independent commission’s decision confirms that City arranged "sham" contracts, deceptive image rights schemes through circular entities like Fordham, and disguised funding via Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) to artificially inflate revenues by over £830m between 2009/10 and 2017/18.
For Liverpool, who lost two Premier League title races to City by a single point and suffered defeat in the 2016 League Cup final, the ruling confirms what many at Anfield long suspected: the sporting playing field was systematically tilted for nearly a decade.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher explained that he was never fooled by City's claims of innocence or their inflated commercial reporting, identifying two obvious red flags that tipped off industry insiders years ago.
"I'm shocked but also not surprised. The reason I'm not surprised is that I always felt they were guilty, just for two simple reasons," Carragher said.
"It would be impossible for Manchester City to ever have the commercial revenue of Liverpool, Manchester United or Real Madrid. They said that, for years, they had that type of income coming in - it's impossible for that to ever happen, no matter how successful Manchester City are.
"Number two - the fact that they've said, continuously over this period, that they've done nothing wrong and that they've got irrefutable evidence. Anyone knows that if you were charged by the police, and you had irrefutable evidence, it would be over within a day. This has dragged on for years.
"The reason I'm shocked is because I never believed the Premier League would be able to beat them in a court of law, because of the power and the finances that Manchester City have behind them, so a huge well done to the Premier League for the result they have."
The £900m Paperwork Scheme and Anfield's Legal Recourse
The independent commission’s findings detail how City concealed operational expenses and overstated commercial income to bypass both Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) limits.
While City chief executive Ferran Soriano branded the verdict a "Premier League conspiracy theory" and vowed to submit an appeal before the Friday, October 2 deadline, the ruling is legally established as a "final award" on the factual findings of the case.
Beyond potential Premier League sanctions which range from unprecedented points deductions and heavy financial fines to expulsion from the top flight a wave of third-party civil litigation is now mounting.
Rival clubs that finished as runners-up or missed out on European qualification during the affected period, including Liverpool, are exploring legal avenues to claim hundreds of millions in lost prize money, television rights, and commercial bonuses.
Liverpool narrowly missed out on the 2013-14 Premier League title under Brendan Rodgers by just two points behind City.
Under Jürgen Klopp, the Reds recorded 97 and 92-point seasons, only to be pipped to the trophy by an Etihad side whose squad depth was underwritten by audited accounts now proven to be fraudulent.
The human toll on world-class players
Beyond boardroom politics, Carragher focused on the internal damage within the Etihad dressing room. The former Reds captain highlighted how world-class figures whose legacies defined the era now face having their achievements viewed through the lens of systematic rules-breaking.
Carragher revealed he has personally spoken with current and former City players who were repeatedly reassured by senior club executives that the allegations were groundless—a narrative he describes as outright gaslighting.
"I do think Manchester City's titles they've won in this time, or trophies, should be taken off their list,"Carragher argued. "In terms of what we're finding out now, I don't know how the owners can continue in English football. We talk about a fit and proper test for owners. What they've done for 10 years - and left this stain that will be there for the next 10 years - it starts because they don't like the word no.
"When you see the statements - the one from Soriano last night - it's beggars belief what you're hearing. They have so much power and finance behind them, nobody ever tells them no. Until they move away from the club, I don't know how this stain is removed from the club. City will move on - they will have great teams in the future. But I don't see how the ownership can continue after what's happened here and their reaction to it. How can they be surprised? They've got irrefutable evidence - well where is it? Put it out there."
Addressing how generational talents like Kevin De Bruyne will have their career achievements evaluated by the wider footballing world, Carragher added:
"As a team, what they've done is wrong. The Premier League have called it a sham five times in their statement. But in terms of individual players, some of them are coming out to bat for the club, that's normal right now. It must be very difficult for them to see anything that's going on and to almost feel like a lot of their career is going to have an asterisk with it, or people are just going to call it a sham.
"I think of Kevin De Bruyne, who's one of the greatest players I've ever seen. He could have played for any team in the world and he still would have been one of the best players. He was fantastic. But he chose his club to be Manchester City. Now, one of those reasons he may have chosen, maybe was his wages, that maybe were inflated because of the situation around Man City and what they've been charged with.
"But if he sits there at the end of his career now and the whole world looks at his Manchester City career of 10 years of service and look at it as a sham, and I keep using that word, that's the word the Premier League used, I'd be furious. Absolutely furious that around the world people are looking at my career like that because of what's going on upstairs.
"Those people have continually told those players - because I have spoken to certain players about it - that everything was fine. They were not going to get done for anything. We keep talking about Liverpool or Manchester United, all these players who maybe could get Premier League titles now. And that's absolutely spot on. But I've actually been thinking about the Manchester City players and how they feel. What Manchester City's hierarchy are coming out with in the last couple of days as well, they're just gaslighting the players, their ex-players, their supporters, because those people want to believe them so much. They've got such strong relationships with them, they want to believe it right now.
"I think the longer this goes on, the more you'll see less support from maybe ex-City players and more frustration about maybe how their careers are going to be viewed by the outside world."
An unprecedented shadow over the upcoming Anfield clash
The fallout from the independent commission's 115-charge finding comes at a volatile moment on the pitch. Having spent £450m over the summer to bring in seven new senior signings including breaking their transfer record for Elliot Anderson (£116m) and Enzo Fernández (£125m) City currently top the Premier League table with five wins from five.
However, as Enzo Maresca’s side prepares to visit Anfield on Sunday, October 11, the sporting narrative has been entirely subsumed by the legal outcome.
For Liverpool, the upcoming match represents more than a tactical contest between two title rivals; it is the first meeting between the clubs since the Premier League formally established that City’s dominance was built on a foundation of systematic financial deception.
While City’s legal team prepares its appeal for October 2, the demand from Liverpool supporters and the wider football community is clear: financial penalties alone cannot repair the damage done to iconic title races. Only structural remedies including title stripping and owner disqualification can begin to clean the slate.
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