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Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that he isn't in direct conversation with the Chelsea owners after a controversial international break that saw Everton handed the first finance-related points deduction in league history. After Portsmouth entered administration in 2010 it is the first sanction for a top flight team in well over a decade.
The Toffees were judged to have gained a sporting advantage after overstepping the £105million threshold for losses over a rolling three-year period with their actions in 2021/22. With current investigations and a private commission looking into alleged misdeeds by Manchester City over a 10-year period between 2008 and 2018, there is pressure at Chelsea too.
The Blues, unlike their rivals, have not currently been charged with any foul play but did have reports emerge over the past two weeks of alleged malpractice during Roman Abramovich's tenure. The Russian oligarch sold the club in 2022 to a consortium lead by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital but, as proved by UEFA fining the club nearly £10million earlier this year, breaking regulations can still have an effect on the current group.
Leaked files reportedly show evidence of Abramovich paying off-the-record cash during transfer activity between 2012 and 2019 - a period Chelsea won two league titles in as well as their first Champions League success and two Europa League wins on the side of a healthy dose of domestic cup victories. If charged and then found guilty of breaking FA, UEFA, FIFA or Premier League guidelines then punishments could be extremely serious.
Everton's own points deduction was referring to one charge made earlier this year whereas City have 115 hanging over their heads. If found guilty of the crimes then teams in breach of the regulations could be hit with their own sizeable points deduction, potential relegation, league expulsion or huge fines.
When asked if these allegations over the club concerned him Pochettino responded firmly that it didn't. As for it being a topic of conversation with the owners, "No, we didn’t talk about it," the Argentine said.
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With the prospect, albeit largely currently unfounded, that titles could be stripped as a punishment he was also stuck between a rock and a hard place when it was put to him that in 2016/17 Chelsea won the league and Tottenham came second. Should anything come of these allegations and the Blues be retrospectively punished it opens up a can of worms that his new team might lose out to a side he managed.
"Ah yes," he acknowledged before stuffing his hand into his mount. "What a difficult press conference! Oh my god!" Pochettino then declared with tongue in cheek amidst the laughter that he wouldn't be inviting the reporter to his next barbecue.
As a way of giving a comedic edge to an otherwise serious situation that even outside of Chelsea's possible future plight threatens to change the very fabric of English football, it was job done for Pochettino. Sean Dyche and Pep Guardiola are more deeply involved in the financial landscape though and weren't as coy.
"Why should I not believe? It's the lawyers to make the defence in front of the judge," the City boss said on Friday when asked if he thought the worst-case scenario was a real threat. "I didn't change my opinion, we wait and after we accept the resolutions.
"I'm not going to say one word about Everton because I don't know the reality of what happened. They are two completely different cases. I know people are saying why don't City go to the Conference [National League] but let's wait.
"You read it and we should be relegated of course, but nobody knows. All the people who say it don’t know exactly what happened. I haven’t read it all. But wait, what I said a month ago – if we’ve done something wrong we’ll be punished.
"After what will be done, I will be here, the case for Everton and I don’t know what happened but it’s a completely different one. That’s why you cannot compare it."
Guardiola added defiantly: "At the moment we are innocent. But wait and see, if the guilt is proven, I know people want it and prove it, but wait and see and after we’ll come and explain.
"There is more chance to stay than winning the Champions League. Read the newspaper, why Everton have been punished, two different cases, not the same, completely different, other one is more complicated, the lawyer on both sides present the case and then we’ll speak.
"I will not consider my future if we are in League One, I will be more likely to stay." Guardiola had previously said he would consider departing if the club had acted wrongly behind his back.
As for Dyche, he said: "Like everyone, well everyone in these parts, we’re shocked. With the wave of noise after that, it seems as though most people in football are shocked, the enormity of it, disproportionate is a word that’s been used by the club.
"Obviously we’re going to feel a bit aggrieved by that. On the other hand, it doesn’t change the focus. The focus since I got here has been sorting things out on the pitch. Getting the team to win, getting the team to feel different, the performances to be different and we were obviously on the right lines for that and delivering strong performances I felt and this has just given us a push backwards to then come forwards again.
"The job hasn’t changed for me. It’s just made it more difficult in the current circumstances until the appeal of course."
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