Roy Keane says Manchester City medals belong ‘in the bin’ after Premier League ruling

Roy Keane says he would put any medals he had won as a Manchester City player “in the bin” after the Premier League found the club guilty of breaching more than 100 financial regulations.

The Premier League said on Tuesday that Manchester City had inflated the club’s commercial revenue by £830m ($1.08bn) between 2009 and 2018.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the club had “systematically breached the Premier League’s rules for nearly a decade”.

Keane, a former Manchester United captain and one of the club’s most prominent former players, was asked how he would feel about retaining medals won during that period if he had represented Manchester City.

“If I was a player, I’d 100% put those medals in the bin,” Keane told ITV Sport. “Of course I would. It was cheating.”

He added: “They won them on the pitch because cheating was going on.”

“They knew it was going to hurt a lot of people, and they still did it,” said Keane.

Manchester City deny any wrongdoing and said they were “shocked” by the decision. The club has until Friday 2 October to appeal against the ruling.

During the period covered by the case, Manchester City won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup and three League Cup trophies.

Manchester City rejects Premier League case

In a video message to club employees, Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano described the decision as the result of a “conspiracy theory by the Premier League”.

“This has gone on for a long time, so it is important that we remind ourselves that the whole of the Premier League’s case against us is based on one false accusation,” Soriano said.

“That accusation is that the owner’s personal money was somehow and secretly transferred to the club through some Abu Dhabi sponsors.”

Manchester City’s response follows the Premier League’s statement that the club had been found to have breached its financial rules over an extended period. The allegations relate to the way the club reported commercial income between 2009 and 2018.

The ruling has prompted Keane to question the legitimacy of the honours Manchester City collected during the same period, although the club maintains that it has committed no breaches and intends to challenge the decision through an appeal.

The case centres on the Premier League’s claim that commercial revenues were overstated by £830m ($1.08bn). Its chief executive said the alleged breaches were carried out systematically across almost 10 years.

Keane said the consequences of the alleged conduct extended beyond the club itself, arguing that Manchester City knew their actions could harm others but proceeded regardless.