Manchester City Women are maintaining their competitive rhythm despite the fallout from their parent club's Premier League guilty verdict. Manager Andree Jeglertz, who guided City to the WSL title in his inaugural season last summer, struck a defiant tone when addressing media ahead of Thursday's Women's Champions League fixture against Real Madrid, characterizing the club's response as "business as usual." When pressed on whether the women's team might face consequences stemming from the men's organization's financial breach findings, Jeglertz declined to elaborate further, signaling the team's intention to keep external distractions at arm's length.
The Premier League's guilty findings centered on Manchester City's conduct between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, with investigators determining the club arranged what officials described as "sham contracts" with commercial partners to obscure more than £830m in undisclosed funding. City has maintained its innocence throughout the process and holds until October 2 to lodge an appeal. Notably, the charges relate specifically to Premier League regulations rather than WSL rules, and stemmed from an era when the women's league operated under Football Association governance. BBC Sport understands that no active investigation into City's women's division is currently underway from the WSL, and rival clubs have not publicly expressed concerns about the charges' potential influence on City's on-pitch success.
The women's players appeared unfazed by the controversy during an open training session on Wednesday morning, with defender Jade Rose emphasizing the squad's singular focus. "I'm just here to talk about the football. That's what we're focusing on," Rose stated when questioned about whether the charges generated anxiety within the dressing room. She noted that players had received "the same messaging the public has" directly from the club, with no indication of altered routines or procedures during training. Director of women's football Therese Sjogran maintained her regular presence at the session, underscoring organizational continuity.
City's composure off the pitch mirrors their dominance on it, with the defending WSL champions claiming 12 points from their opening four league matches to sit atop the standings. Jeglertz rejected suggestions that negative media attention had complicated his preparation for the Real Madrid encounter, affirming that the team had "kept on doing everything we normally do." The squad enters Thursday's contest following a draw against Bayern Munich in their opening Women's Champions League league phase match, aiming to strengthen their European campaign while the wider institutional storm swirls around the club's men's organization.