Manchester City's financial saga has opened another can of worms, and Jesse Marsch has just thrown a match into it.The Canada boss, who was Leeds United manager when they were relegated in 2023, has delivered a brutal assessment of the case hanging over the Premier League giants, insisting the alleged financial wrongdoing was an open secret across English football."I think Manchester City should be punished severely. They should be relegated. But honestly, everyone knew about it. Everyone," Marsch told The Guardian. "I don't know why it took so long for everything to come out."##LINKED_NEWS_69551##Marsch was on the Leeds touchline during the 2022-23 season, one of those now under the microscope in the Premier League's investigation into City. He remembers one particular detail from the summer of 2022 that immediately raised eyebrows. Leeds and City were among the few Premier League clubs to report a profit, but Marsch said City's figures didn't make sense to him, as Leeds had generated their money by selling Raphinha to Barcelona and Kalvin Phillips to City."When Manchester City said the same thing, I literally thought: 'Are you kidding me? What is going on here?'"Then came Erling Haaland. City signed the Norwegian from Borussia Dortmund for around €60 million, matching his reported release clause.##LINKED_NEWS_69496##However, Marsch – who previously coached Haaland during his RB Salzburg days – wasn't buying it."They said they brought Haaland in for €60 million. My reaction was: 'OK, sure, that's how it happened.'"The American claims he already believed there were inconsistencies surrounding the deal."Haaland was worth €150 million at that moment. But what could we do? We just shrugged our shoulders."Monday, 21.45: (1.55) France (4.20) Belgium (5.90)Reports have since alleged that significant additional payments were made around Haaland's transfer, including fees involving his father, Alf-Inge Haaland, and former agent Mino Raiola. There have also been reports questioning whether Dortmund received more than the officially stated €60 million.Haaland is just one of the transfers and financial arrangements that have attracted scrutiny.
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