Richards 'devastated' by Manchester City's guilty verdicts

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards has said he felt "absolutely devastated" after reading the Premier League's verdict finding his former club guilty on financial charges.

An independent commission concluded that City arranged "sham contracts" with several commercial partners to disguise more than £830m in secret funding. The Premier League confirmed City were found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, and all but one charge concerning failure to co-operate with the investigation.

The club continues to deny any wrongdoing and has until 2 October to lodge an appeal. During the nine-year period covered by the charges, City won the Premier League three times, including the 2011-12 season when Richards was part of the title-winning squad.

Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Richards said he was troubled by the phrase "sham contracts" used by the Premier League. He had been at the club since he was 14 and lived with a local host family who had supported City for decades; his former host father called him in tears seeking answers he could not provide.

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said in a statement on Saturday that the club remains confident of proving its innocence. Chief executive Ferran Soriano told staff and players in a video message on Tuesday that "irrefutable evidence" had been ignored by the commission.

City's second title, in 2013-14, came after they overtook Liverpool late in the season to finish two points ahead. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said he felt for City's players, suggesting their achievements could now carry an "asterisk" and accusing the club's hierarchy of "gaslighting" by continuing to deny wrongdoing. Carragher argued the titles should be stripped from City, noting that the 2013-14 season was the closest his former teammate Steven Gerrard ever came to winning the league.