There is a difference between watching a club's dominance and judging what comes after it. On the eve of Manchester City hosting Paris St-Germain at Etihad Stadium, Luis Enrique chose to focus on the football side of the story, even as the guilty verdict over the Premier League case hung over the occasion.
The PSG manager said he was surprised by the ruling, but he also stressed that the process should run its course. Manchester City were found guilty of the majority of 115 charges before PSG's visit, with the case covering a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018 and involving allegations around sham contracts with commercial partners. City insist they are innocent and have appealed, but Tuesday's news made this their first home match since the verdict.
Enrique's response was notable because it was both cautious and complimentary. He said there is often noise around major clubs, and this was no different. He added that the authorities must decide the case, but also made clear that, from a football point of view, he believes City earned what they won on the pitch.
That distinction matters. City were bought for £200m by Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008 and have gone on to win 20 trophies in 10 years under Pep Guardiola, who left at the end of last season. Enrique, who is friends with Guardiola, said those trophies remain on the pitch and said he hoped City could avoid any sanction. In his view, the club's football over the last few years has been incredible, and the silverware they collected was deserved on sporting grounds.
There is also history between the clubs in the background. In 2014, Manchester City and PSG were both fined by Uefa for breaching financial rules, which gives this latest case an added layer of familiarity rather than shock. But the scale is different now, and the timing is awkward: Wednesday's Champions League meeting at 20:00 BST comes with the debate still unresolved.
For PSG, the football challenge remains straightforward enough. For City, the broader question is whether a club that has defined an era on the pitch can separate that legacy from what happens next off it. Enrique did not try to answer that for them. He simply said the final decision should be respected, and that what City achieved on the pitch should not be forgotten while the authorities decide the rest.
