Graeme Souness defends Man City following Premier League charges

Liverpool legend Graeme Souness believes Manchester City should not be stripped of any silverware or punished over the alleged breaches of financial rules that are currently hanging over the club.

City were charged by the Premier League earlier this year with a total of 115 suspected breaches of the top flight's financial rules. The alleged breaches cover a period from the 2009/10 campaign to the 2017/18 season.

The prospect of City allegedly breaching Premier League financial rules has led some to suggest that the silverware won in this period, including top-flight titles, ought to be taken away from the club should they be found guilty.

But former Liverpool midfielder and manager Souness believes City should not have any crowns taken away from them and pointed to the positive impact the club's Abu Dhabi owners have had in Manchester.

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Speaking to talkSPORT, Souness said: "I personally don't think they should be stripped of anything. I think it's a hard one to take, I think, trying to look at the bigger picture, what these people have done for that part of Manchester.

"They've created an absolute monster of a football club, but they have invested so heavily, they've changed the lives of people in that particular part of Manchester. I'm not sure how you can punish them in that they have the deepest pockets of any team out there right now. It's a difficult one."

In terms of the upcoming season, Souness believes City remain the team to beat and that Pep Guardiola has at his disposal the strongest squad in the history of English football. He feels that aside from Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson, City have