Manchester City deserve to play Champions League football, proclaims Pep Guardiola
After sealing their top four spot with a win over Brighton, Pep Guardiola has admitted that he believes his Manchester City side deserves to play Champions League football next season. The Cityzens have been handed a European ban but they have filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Two back-to-back five goal victories has confirmed Manchester City’s place in the Champions League for next season but that only depends on their appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The Cityzens have been banned from participating in European competitions for two years by the UEFA and so, they have filed an appeal with CAS with a verdict set to be released on Monday, June 13th. Yet despite reports indicating that there is overwhelming evidence against City, both Guardiola and the higher-ups at the club have maintained their innocence.
That is despite rumours and reports linking the Spaniard with a move to Italy and France although Guardiola has reiterated on multiple occasions that he’s not looking to leave City. But with City's Champions League place secured, Guardiola admitted that his side deserves to play Champions League football next season. He further added that qualifying for Europe’s top cup competition is the minimum requirement and hopefully UEFA will let his players showcase what they can do.
“I was pleased with everything tonight – the result and the levels we reached. We are now at a good level and are ready to play the last games of the Premier League and in the Champions League. We’ve forgotten the Southampton result as we played incredibly well there. Football sometimes is strange. We just didn’t score there,” Guardiola told Sky Sports.
“We’re a team who create a lot of chances and today we converted them. We’ve qualified for the Champions League which was the minimum requirement for this club. And these players have done it for the last six or seven years. We won it on the pitch and hopefully on Monday UEFA will allow these players to play next season. They deserve to be in the Champions League.”