Ian Wright believes that the discussion surrounding the modern day success of Man City comes with an important caveat attached, that being the 115 charges that they have to answer to for alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules.
Liverpool and Man City engaged in another chapter of their storied rivalry on Sunday afternoon, and as happens after so many of these games, there was plenty of talking points to come out of it.
Despite being undermanned, the Reds ability to put the reigning champions for a sustained period of time surprised and impressed many observers in equal measure, not least the Liverpool manager himself who said “there is no higher scale than playing the best football you can play against Man City, causing City the problems we caused them today.”
Then there was the dramatic finale when a seemingly stone-cold penalty appeal was denied when Michael Oliver did not view Jeremy Doku’s high challenge on Alexis Mac Allister to be worthy of one.
So while the fixture ended all square for the second time this season and we are no clearer to knowing what it means in terms of the title race, another question has started to emerge.
With Jurgen Klopp departing at the end of this season, the clash on Sunday was the last time that the German and Pep Guardiola will come up against each other in the Premier League.
In terms of that competition, City won five, Liverpool four and there were eight draws, and in a overall sense with also covers their time in Germany it is Klopp that edges it with 11 wins to 10.
As those figures state, there is certainly not a lot that separates them, however it is simplistic to go on wins and losses alone.
The vast riches that Guardiola has had at his disposal courtesy of the Man City ownership differs greatly to the way FSG does business and the way that Klopp has had to build his team basically from the ground up.
The matter of the pending breaches that Man City have to face is something that the mainstream football media have almost looked to tiptoe around and close their eye to and it has been left to investigative journalists to keep the topic in the forefront of people’s minds.
Ian Wright is one of the very few pundits to really address it in a public setting as he was speaking on the Sky Sports Monday Night Football program (per the Echo).
“I think when you look at the trophy cabinet that Pep [Guardiola] has done very well, but then you look at what Klopp has done to try and catch Manchester City and the way he has built that team to get them there.
“You have to say, yes, it’s been easier for Pep with what he’s done. But, Klopp has a lot of love, but it’s there for everyone to see in respect to the amount of trophies.
"But, we can’t speak about City without talking about the 115 charges around them. The one thing I would like more than anything else is for that to be gone so you can give the team and the manager the flowers they deserve because when you speak about them, it’s like there is an elephant in the room."
Wright went on to say on his record of trophies won as a basic measuring stick alone, he would say that Guardiola has done better.
While opinions will differ on ‘who is better, who has done better’, what is pleasing is that Wright has shone a light on this matter. Man City may be focussed on winning more honours, but their ultimate judgement is still to come, and this one will be away from the pitch.
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