Mikel Arteta has stated he has a clear conscience regarding Manchester City's serious breaches of financial rules. An independent commission found that between 2009/10 and 2017/18, City artificially inflated their revenue by £830m through spurious sponsorship deals. The club have lodged an appeal and deny all wrongdoing.
Arteta, who spent three-and-a-half seasons as assistant to Pep Guardiola at City, answered "yes" when asked if he had a clear conscience during an otherwise guarded press conference. He repeatedly insisted he would not comment further until the outcome of City's appeal is known.
The investigation covered two years in which Arteta worked at City, including the 2016/17 and 2017/18 campaigns when City won back-to-back Premier League titles. According to the commission, City artificially inflated their sponsorship income by £264.3m across those two seasons.
Arteta refused to comment on whether his memories of working at City had been tainted, but said the process must be resolved and expressed confidence in those in charge to do so in the best interest of everybody.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing