Guardiola set for first Etihad return as City host PSG after guilty verdict
Pep Guardiola will walk back into the Etihad Stadium next week for the first time since leaving Manchester City.
The former manager is expected to watch from the stands when City host Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, 14 October, in what will be his first return to the ground since his departure BBC Sport.
It will also be City's first home match since an independent commission, a panel appointed to rule on Premier League cases, found the club guilty of all charges relating to breaches of financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.
City continue to deny wrongdoing and have lodged an appeal against the findings BBC Sport.
The Premier League's report stated the club had falsely inflated commercial revenues by £830m through "sham" contracts. The case, often described as the 115 charges, centred on claims that City failed to provide accurate financial information and full disclosure about player and manager payments, allegations first detailed when a hearing was announced in 2024 Reuters.
Guardiola left at the end of last season after a decade in charge. He won six Premier League titles in that time, plus the Champions League, three FA Cups and five League Cups.
He stayed away for months. Now he is coming back.
The PSG tie is listed as a UEFA Champions League 2026/27 league phase game, the opening round-robin stage where clubs play for a place in the knockouts, and as Matchday 2 at the City of Manchester Stadium. City's official fixture list gives a 21:00 CEST kick-off, with tickets and hospitality on sale and TV details still to be confirmed.
It follows a demanding restart after the three-week international break. City return to action against Liverpool on Sunday at 16:30 BST at Anfield before the European night in Manchester.
Guardiola has form for turning up where few expect him. In May, while still City manager, he made a surprise appearance at Stockport County's League One match against Port Vale instead of watching the Champions League semi-final between PSG and Bayern Munich.
For supporters, this night will feel different. The man who shaped ten years of their shared memory will be in the stands, not the dugout, while the club he built begins life on the pitch under the weight of a guilty verdict it is still fighting.
