Jamie Carragher had to clear up his ‘I’d rather cheat and win’ comment after Simon Jordan called him out
Jamie Carragher has cleared up some comments he made four years ago, where he said he’d “rather cheat and win than not win,” after Simon Jordan challenged him live on talkSPORT.
Carragher has been outspoken about Manchester City ever since the club was found guilty by an independent commission of serious breaches of Premier League and UEFA financial rules.
The former Liverpool defender called for City’s owners to be removed and for all titles to be taken away from the nine years between 2009 and 2018, when the club hid over £830 million through fake sponsorship deals. He suggested a five-year punishment for the club.
Man City have always denied the claims, saying they have “irrefutable evidence” to support their case and have appealed the guilty verdict.
Many, including Carragher, see City’s actions as a stain on English football because of the cheating involved. However, some have criticized Carragher for his old comments about cheating, which seem to contradict his current views.
In 2022, on Steven Bartlett’s ‘Diary of a CEO,’ Carragher talked about how competitive he is and how much he wanted to win—even saying he would “rather cheat and win than not win.”
He said, “I’d rather cheat and win than not win—I don’t think I’ll ever be any different. That’s why football has taken me to places in my life that almost bring a tear to my eye.”
Though these words weren’t about Man City, Simon Jordan and others called Carragher out for being “hypocritical.”
Jordan said on talkSPORT, “He’s been caught in a hypocritical moment. But that doesn’t change what he says about Man City. He can defend the indefensible if he wants. How far does that go? When players were punished for match-fixing in the 80s, doesn’t that add to the argument that cheating is cheating?”
Carragher responded on X, explaining that his original comments were about incidents like Luis Garcia’s “ghost goal” against Chelsea in the 2005 Champions League, not about huge financial cheating.
He said, “No, it’s not hypocritical. I was talking about my striker diving for a penalty, or me stopping a ball from going over the line with my hand! I was not talking about £900 million in fake sponsorship over years.”
He argued that cheating during a game is very different from faking nearly £900 million in sponsorship money, like what City has been accused of.
Liverpool were hit hard by these off-pitch actions, finishing second to Man City twice while the alleged cheating was going on—in the 2013/14 and 2018/19 seasons.
That’s why Carragher feels so strongly about the punishment, even if some people question his views because of what he said before about cheating.