The former Manchester City midfielder believes his old club deserve to be punished if the appeal against their financial charges fails

Gareth Barry says Manchester City must face punishment if their guilty verdict regarding Premier League financial charges is upheld. Barry made 175 appearances for the club and holds the record for the most minutes played in Premier League history.

The footballing world was rocked last month by the ruling of an independent commission that found City guilty on 114 of the 115 financial charges brought against them, spanning nine seasons from 2009/10 through 2017/18.

City were ruled to have orchestrated systematic "sham" arrangements over nearly a decade to circumvent financial regulations, as well as obstructed the Premier League's investigation. However, City have vehemently denied the findings and lodged a formal appeal, which is currently ongoing.

Questions have inevitably been asked of those who represented the club during this era and Barry, who signed from Aston Villa in 2009 for £12m, is among them. But the former midfielder, who left the Etihad Stadium in 2014, maintains that if the appeal fails and the club are definitively proven to have breached the rules, they must be punished.

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Speaking on All Out Football's In The Mixer, Barry said: "If the club have broken rules, then they have to get punished. It's natural, isn't it? The football world can't work properly if rules are in place and they're getting broken.

"Listen, this is the financial side of it (football). Other teams we've seen in other countries that broke rules… You're going to get punished. So the club possibly are going to get punished at some point.

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"But I think as ex-players and especially as fans, you want it done quicker rather than later. It's just an awkward situation for everyone now, isn't it?"

With potential penalties ranging from severe points deductions and fines to the unprecedented retrospective stripping of titles should City's appeal fail, Barry's own honours from that era - including the 2011 FA Cup and the 2011/12 Premier League title - could theoretically come under scrutiny.

Asked how he reflects on his achievements during that period, Barry said: "I'd say it's more of a sad feeling, probably for the fans. I mean the moments [I had at City], they've already happened.

"These are the sort of things that are not going to be ever taken away. They happened 12, 13 years ago. These things happened when I joined the club, 2009, even earlier than that.

"So I feel sorry for the fans, really. They're going to the games, getting songs sung about them and people calling them cheats. Players, fans, staff - there are decisions that you're not in control of. You don't know what's going on."