Pep Guardiola Says 'I Trust in My Club' Amid Manchester City FFP Investigation

Pep Guardiola has said he trusts Manchester City's hierarchy amid UEFA's ongoing investigation into whether the club broke Financial Fair Play rules. 

The Spanish manager said after his side's 2-1 defeat of Watford on Tuesday that if anything is wrong, UEFA's probe, which is set to be concluded soon, will bring it to light, per Goal's Joe Wright:

"UEFA is doing what it is doing. If it found something, the club will make a statement and I like that because we'll know exactly how we're going to finish. If there's something regular, we'll know it. If we did something not regular, the people can finish to talk about [it]. I trust a lot in my club, in our organisation. If something is wrong, they are going to tell us."

City are alleged to have used sponsorship deals in an attempt to evade restrictions on how much money owners can put into a club.

The accusations came to light in German magazine Der Spiegel after it examined information made public by Football Leaks, and City could be banned from the UEFA Champions League if they are found to have broken rules, per Paul MacInnes of the Guardian.

As noted by Martyn Ziegler of The Times, clubs have been banned before for breaching FFP rules, but the Guardian's David Conn believes the chances of City being sanctioned are remote:

It would be a huge blow as City are one of the best sides in Europe at the moment and harbour legitimate ambitions of winning their first-ever Champions League under Guardiola.

They have struggled to make a real impact in the competition since becoming regular participants at the beginning of the decade.

Group-stage exits in 2011-12 and 2012-13 were followed by last-16 defeats in the following two seasons, and then a semi-final berth under Manuel Pellegrini in 2015-16.

Guardiola, a two-time winner of the Champions League as manager of Barcelona, has overseen campaigns to the last 16 and quarter-finals so far in his tenure, and he will be eager to improve on that record this season.

City have already qualified out of Group F, but they need a draw against Hoffenheim next week to guarantee top spot.