Jamie Carragher has openly argued that Manchester City should lose the trophies they secured during the years in which the club has been adjudicated guilty of serious financial violations, and he insists that the owners must be stripped of their positions. The independent commission that investigated the Premier League’s financial regulations concluded that City breached the rules on every count, a finding the club continues to reject.
Chief executive Ferran Soriano dismissed the inquiry as a "Premier League conspiracy theory" in a video addressed to players and staff, and the organization has announced it will appeal the decision, with a deadline of Friday, October 2, to lodge its challenge. Between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons, Manchester City amassed a remarkable haul of silverware: three Premier League crowns, one FA Cup, three League Cups and a Community Shield. "I do think Manchester City's titles they've won in this time, or trophies, should be taken off their list," Carragher told Sky Sports, expressing his belief that the achievements should be nullified.
While Carragher is clear that the club’s honours deserve to be erased, he is less certain about whether those trophies should automatically be reassigned to the runners‑up. He argues that the primary loss is not the physical medals but the emotional experience that players, supporters, and clubs derived from those victories.
"Whether other clubs should get them is slightly different," he said. "But what Manchester City have done is, they've not just hurt their own players in terms of no one looks at their trophies and medals now in the same way..." He reflected on his own career, noting that he rarely looks at his medals years later, yet the memory of a decisive whistle or a crucial goal still triggers a visceral reaction. "Those players will never get that feeling and it was robbed by Manchester City. That's what they haven't got.
I don't think any player will care if you go and give them a medal, and he puts it in the house, in his trophy room, he'll never look at it. It's not about medals, it's about feelings, and that's what Manchester City have robbed." Carragher believes that punishing the club alone is insufficient; the owners must also face consequences. "The club are going to get punished," he said. "You've got supporters, players, the club and owners.
For me this is all about the owners, the people who are at the top of the club." He praised City’s historical stature, noting that the club has been a "wonderful club" for a century and will likely remain so for many more. However, he questioned how the owners could continue to operate within English football after the revelations. "We talk about a fit and proper test for owners. What they've done for 10 years – and left this stain that will be there for the next 10 years – it starts because they don't like the word no," Carragher explained.
He cited the CEO’s statements as "beggars belief" and warned that the immense financial clout of the owners has shielded them from accountability for too long. "Until they move away from the club, I don't know how this stain is removed from the club." Despite acknowledging that City will likely rebuild and field strong squads in the future, Carragher doubts the owners’ ability to remain in charge. "City will move on – they will have great teams in the future. But I don't see how the ownership can continue after what's happened here and their reaction to it.
How can they be surprised? They've got irrefutable evidence – well where is it?
Put it out there," he demanded. Carragher expressed both shock and a sense of inevitability regarding the outcome. He had long suspected misconduct, pointing to two key inconsistencies: the implausibility of Manchester City generating commercial revenue on par with Liverpool, Manchester United or Real Madrid, and the club’s repeated claims of possessing "irrefutable evidence" while the investigation dragged on for years. "It would be impossible for Man City ever to have the commercial revenue of Liverpool, Man Utd or Real Madrid.
They said for years they had that type of income coming in. It's impossible for that to ever happen, no matter how successful Man City are," he argued. He praised the Premier League for securing a decisive victory on the charges – 114 out of 115 were upheld – saying the result needed to be overwhelming to be credible.
"A huge well done to the Premier League for the result it seems they have right now. For the Premier League to not just win this case but people talk about 114 charges out of 115 – they had to win it like that for it to be convincing." Turning to the players who have been part of the contested era, Carragher expressed sympathy for both former and current squad members. He acknowledged that some ex‑players are still defending the club, which he sees as a natural reaction but also a source of personal frustration. "I'd be furious and I actually feel for the Man City players," he said.
"As a team, what they've done is wrong. The Premier League have called it a sham five times in their statement." He singled out Kevin De Bruyne as an example of a world‑class talent whose legacy could be tarnished by the scandal. While De Bruyne’s abilities would have shone at any club, Carragher suggested that the inflated wages tied to the financial breaches may have influenced his decision to stay at City.
He warned that if De Bruyne’s decade‑long tenure is forever marked by an asterisk, it would be a grave injustice to the player. "But if he sits there at the end of his career now and the whole world looks at his Manchester City career of 10 years of service and look at it as a sham, and I keep using that word, that's the word the Premier League used, I'd be furious.
Absolutely furious that around the world people are looking at my career like that because of what's going on upstairs," Carragher lamented. Carragher also criticized the club’s leadership for what he described as "gaslighting"—attempting to reassure players, former players, and fans while the facts of the case remain undeniable. He warned that prolonged denial could erode support from former players and increase frustration about how their careers will be judged by the wider public.
"I think the longer this goes on, the more you'll see less support from maybe ex‑City players and more frustration about maybe how their careers are going to be viewed by the outside world," he concluded. In summary, Carragher’s stance is unequivocal: Manchester City’s recent trophy cabinet should be emptied, the owners should be removed from their positions, and the football community must reckon with the emotional and reputational damage inflicted on players and supporters alike.
The debate now moves to the legal arena, where the club’s appeal will determine whether the Premier League’s sanctions stand, but the former defender insists that the moral verdict has already been rendered.