Speaking ahead of his team’s encounter against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique has said that he “hopes” for a positive outcome for the Premier League side in their appeal after being found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules.

After a long-running investigation, an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of 114 of the 115 charges levelled against them. Those charges relate to breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules. The commission found that over a nine-year period (2009-2018), Manchester City had drawn up “ sham” contracts in order to funnel money into the club, all while hiding costs.

It allowed the club, who became a Premier League powerhouse during this time, to overstate revenues by over £850m and understate expenses by over £60m. Manchester City have rejected the commission’s verdict as an “opinion” and have already lodged their appeal.

When the news broke, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president of PSG as well as the head of the European Football Clubs (EFC), was defensive of Manchester City and of Ferran Soriano. “Firstly, we are not here to judge something that is still not a final decision,” began PSG’s president.

He continued, “Secondly, we are here to help each other, to support each other. Of course, if there is anything wrong… I’m not a lawyer, but I think that they have the right to appeal, so it is not the final decision. And we are not in a position to say [anything]; it is more a Premier League, an English club matter. Let’s see where it will go. Ferran (Soriano) has been great to the board. A big asset who adds value to us with his knowledge . His career is fantastic , and Manchester City did a lot of positive things also, but I am not in a position to judge. We are not in a position to judge. We are not judges and we are not a court .

Whilst PSG have not taken a formal stance on the Manchester City verdict, Luis Enrique has now spoken in defence of the Premier League side. “There is a lot of noise around Manchester City and there often is around big clubs. We just have to wait and see what the final decision will be. I hope everything works out well for Manchester City because I think what they have done on the pitch has been incredible over the last few years and they certainly deserved to win on the pitch all the trophies they have won,” said the Spaniard.

He added, “The authorities are responsible for making these decisions, but speaking only about football, they deserved those trophies. I love their football. Beyond that, we have to wait for the decision […] They deserved to win that and I have they can avoid sanction, but we have to wait.”

When PSG face City on Wednesday night, it could be a chance for Luis Enrique and Pep Guardiola, who won the Champions League with the Premier League side, to reunite. The pair are close and the latter is set to attend a game at the Etihad for the first time since the verdict was announced. Luis Enrique was asked what he will say to his compatriot: “The trophies that you won on the pitch will remain [won] on the pitch. That is all. For everything else, we have to wait, and what I tell him will be a private conversation.”