"Stick together, enjoy the ride and smile," is Erling Haaland's message to Man City fans. The club have launched an appeal against the verdict of an independent commission finding them guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules. City insist in their statement they are "innocent" and have described the judgement against them as "opinion" and claimed it "contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe".
The independent commission found that between 2009/10 and 2017/18, Man City arranged "sham" contracts with a number of its commercial partners as part of a "disguised funding scheme" to artificially inflate the club's revenues by £830m. Amid all the off-field news, Haaland and his team-mates go to Anfield on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, to face Liverpool. Asked what he would say to the City supporters ahead of that game, Haaland said: "They're going to have a good time.
"We have to stick together. We have to stay with each other, and we have to stay positive. No matter what happens in life, we always have to have a smile.
"So we have to stay positive, look ahead, and try to win football games and try to enjoy the situation and win the game. "We have to stick together; we have to spread the love to each other. So yeah: stick together, and enjoy the ride and smile." Haaland - the son of former City player Alf-Inge Haaland - says he considers himself a fan of City, too, and referenced his connection with Manchester.
"I care a lot about the city, I have to say. I care a lot about the fans because I'm a fan myself, and I feel with them as well." City's matches with Liverpool became big rivalry games during the Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp eras at the two clubs and Haaland is looking forward to the occasion. "It's always special to play against Liverpool.
Especially with Pep and Klopp. I remember sitting in Salzburg and Dortmund and watching the games, how much they pushed each other. It's always special games there.
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