Enzo Maresca came out in defense of Manchester City's ownership on Friday, despite the club being found guilty of breaking the Premier League's financial rules in the biggest scandal in the competition's history.

The manager Maresca said he had complete trust in City's hierarchy, and dismissed suggestions the club's unprecedented dominance of English soccer had been tainted by the bombshell verdict that it had artificially inflated its revenue by more than $1 billion to help sign some of soccer's biggest stars.

"I completely trust the club in this moment, in the future, always," Maresca said in his first news conference since the findings of an independent panel were published last week.