The Premier League is days away from returning and managers are beginning to break their silence on the defining story of the international break.

It was revealed last week that Manchester City had been found guilty on all charges they faced relating to financial misconduct between 2009 and 2018, a period in which they dominated domestic football.

That period encompasses much of Pep Guardiola’s highly decorated decade with the club and several triumphant Premier League campaigns.

Pundits, ex-professionals and experts have all taken their chance to weigh in over the past week, but with the Premier League now reconvened, the twenty managers are starting to speak on the news.

This page will be updated as more managers hold their pre-match press conferences throughout Friday.

“Personally, I’m very calm to be honest. The club has been quite clear. We trust completely the club. We understand the noise but the focus for us is just what we can control and we can control just the football side. The players are excited for the next two games. But especially they are excited because in this moment we are top of the league. The players are just focused on that. I spoke with the club, for sure. We all trust. The right moment to speak about that is when we win that appeal.”

"I fully understand the question. But obviously it's important we respect the process, the timelines. It's still an ongoing process that has not been resolved. My position and the club position is not to make any further comments until it is resolved."

"I think uncertainty is not good for anyone and anyone involved, but the process is ongoing and we have to patient like everyone else and see what happens at the end."

“For sure, there is a decision. But we need to be patient. We need to wait for the sanctions from the panel. They are independent enough to assess all the situations. I am sure whatever decisions they have, they are the ones they have to take. Probably it is going to take a little longer. Let's see what happens.”

"Difficult to say in many ways. It's thrown up a lot of questions. It's ongoing, and there's only so much I can say. I have my own questions about it because it has affected me personally. We'll have to see how it goes. The sooner it gets sorted for everyone, the better. There's no getting that back [winning moments] in any direction. The feeling we all crave is coming out on top. That sums it up. Whatever is done in the past, is done in the past."

"What can you say when an appeal is going on? I'm not inside the story. They are a huge football club now, a huge squad of quality players, so we will see. I'm outside the loop. It's not my role to talk about a punishment or how much."

"It is not in my job description to judge on that. The authorities are taking care of it, and there is a clear process now which will be followed and speaking on behalf of the whole club, it is the right approach to focus on what we can do better and what we can influence on the pitch."

"It makes no sense if right now everyone wants to have an opinion about this topic. There are more qualified people to talk about this. It's nothing to do with me. I was not involved in the title race during those years. This is not my topic. Football is my topic."

"I trust in the guys who are involved in these kinds of things and situations and then we will see what happens. I'm a football coach, not a politician, and I love to be a football coach, and it should stay like this."

“The relevant authorities have to be relentless otherwise you lose the value of your competition. My position is simple, football has rules on and off the pitch. You have to respect those rules. When they are broken, you should have consequences, otherwise it’s not fair and we want fair competition, we want fair play. I don’t (know what an appropriate punishment would be).”

"I can't control anything about that. I can only concentrate on what we are doing. It's out of our hands, not my topic. I have enough topics of my own. But let's see how it goes. I heard there are some ongoing processes so it's difficult to say anything about it now."

“I hope it’s not just Everton being picked on. I’m always thinking we’re being picked on by the referees but now we may be being picked on by other areas as well.”

“We already played against Manchester City, that’s why I don’t really have any interest to look at them in depth. Now all the facts are here I think it's (up) to the court to take the decision, but it will come quickly because everyone wants to know (what will happen).”

"I think it's a huge situation for the Premier League to have to deal with. The fact that it's still ongoing, I think it's wrong for me to really dig too much into that. I think I should respect where the authorities are with this and trying to come to the right outcome, which I'm sure they will. I think (a quick conclusion) will be the aim and the hope for everybody, that the outcome will be finalised sooner rather than later, for sure. You've got to trust the authorities to come up with the right outcome."

“Let’s wait until the final verdict is spoken, but my wish is just that this is quick… because we didn’t know with Palace if we were in the Europa League or Conference League and then it was ‘you will hear on Thursday’ and then that became Monday, because it was always delayed. Then we got the final verdict ten days before the Conference League started. And that’s why I think this must be [completed] as soon as possible. There is still damage for the Premier League, not just in England. It’s a big topic all over the world, especially in Europe. The most important thing is the integrity of the league because as soon as the fans can’t trust it, they won’t watch it any more.”

"I prefer not to make any comments. I am the Fulham head coach, I have to make many decisions about my team. That’s the most important thing. I’m just focused on tomorrow’s game."

offered no comment.

Yet to speak: Sergej Jakirović (Hull City), Gary O’Neil (Ipswich), Unai Emery (Aston Villa).