'Ask Daniel Levy!' - Pep Guardiola blames Premier League rivals for Man City charges & vows he WON'T quit

• Blues charged over financial rule breaches
• Waiting to discover punishment
• Coach will not walk out on the club

WHAT HAPPENED? Reigning champions City have been charged by the Premier League with over 100 breaches of financial rules, with their case now being passed over to an independent commission that will ultimately pass judgement and rule on any punishments – which could range from points deductions to relegation out of the English top-flight. City claim to have been left surprised by the findings, which emerged from a four-year investigation, and consider themselves – as a dominant force in the domestic game – to have been unfairly singled out.

WHAT THEY SAID: Quizzed on whether he feels that charges against City have been driven by other clubs, Guardiola has said: “Yeah, of course. It's the Premier League.”

Asked to expand on why that would be the case, the Catalan coach added: “You should go to the chairman, the CEO's, Daniel Levy, and ask them.”

He went on to say when asked if rival clubs want City kicked out of the Premier League: “It is difficult for me to answer this question. I don't know. They open a precedent right now. Be careful in the future because many clubs make suggestions and we have been accused. I can have an opinion, but what do fans think? I don't know. It is obvious the fans want to push us out of the competition. They believe we didn't behave properly.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Guardiola has said in the past that he would walk away from City if he found out that the club had been lying to him about dealings off the field, but is adamant that he will not be quitting any time soon. He said of his plans for the immediate future: “I am not moving from this seat, I can assure you. I want to stay more than ever. After many, many years in the Premier League I do not want to move on.”

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT? City remain in the hunt for Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League honours this season and are unlikely to see any of those bids for silverware brought to a premature close by financial sanctions, with it expected to be many months – maybe even years – before a final ruling is delivered.