Jamie Carragher has returned fire on Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who slammed the Liverpool legend and television commentator on Tuesday. It all began when a trio of Sky Sports pundits, including Carragher, but also Gary Neville and Micah Richards, accused Man City of being complacent in their 3-3 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Guardiola launched into a six-and-a-half minute diatribe, which we obviously can’t cover totality of in this current space, but it took direct aim at the playing careers of the pundit trio.
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“Gary Neville knows how difficult it is otherwise he would’ve won four Premier Leagues in the best period of Manchester United,” Guardiola said at his press conference ahead of today’s mid-week Premier League clash against Aston Villa.
“But he didn’t do it. Maybe they accuse us of complacency because they felt complacency (at United). Maybe they felt it. This team so far, no chance.
“Jamie Carragher didn’t win one (title). Micah Richards didn’t win four Premier Leagues in a row. Never, ever. It’s never happened.
“I don’t have anything to say about the pundits, honestly. It’s not about that (complacency). Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think it’s about complacency.”
Guardiola also said, during the same media session, he believes his side will win the league again this year, and thus achieve the aforementioned unprecedented consecutive Premier League titles in a row.
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Carragher hit back, via Twitter, by referencing
A. the Premier League charging City 115 times with alleged breaches of financial regulations this past February (from an investigation that began in 2018) and
B. the fact that City is owned by Sheikh Mansour, an Emirati royal and current vice president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates. He is also the minister of presidential court and member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi.
I think I’d have probably won one if Liverpool were owned by a nation state, and pushed the rules so far that the PL charged us 115 times!!
I was actually praising Pep’s team after the game on Sunday ????? https://t.co/EIW3B1AJve
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) December 5, 2023
Carragher also mentioned that he was actually praising Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. It is undeniable that City have a very unique arrangement when it comes to ownership structure. Only Paris Saint-Germain (Qatar) and Newcastle United (Saudi Arabia) can compare. Do they have unfair financial advantages? We’ll see what happens when the investigation escalates next fall, when the hearing is supposedly set to start.
A verdict could come then the following spring (2025). Also, given how opinionated and outspoken Gary Neville is, we just can’t wait to hear his response to all this.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.