CAS delivered their verdict on Monday, in which City were cleared of breaching Financial Fair Play regulations between 2012 and 2016.
The decision reversed the ban issued by UEFA in February and Guardiola hailed it a great day for the Club as he looks forward to competing in the Champions League next season.
DONATE | CITYZENS GIVING FOR RECOVERY
“[I’m] incredibly happy for the decision, which shows what all the people said about the club was not true,” he said at his press conference ahead of Wednesday’s game against Bournemouth.
“If we did something wrong we would accept the decision of UEFA and CAS because we did something wrong.
“We have the right to defend ourselves when we believe what we have done is correct. Three independent judges said this.
“We are incredibly happy because we can defend what we have done on the pitch.”
Having been absolved by CAS, Guardiola hopes the criticism City have faced since UEFA issued the ban will come to an end.
“It would be nice [for the criticism to stop], but I don’t think so,” he added.
“What happened in recent years - how many people came to our club, whispering on us - I would love to finish.
“I would like to say to these kind of people look in our eyes and say something face to face and go out onto the pitch and play as rivals and after, if you beat us, we will shake hands and congratulate you.
“Yesterday was a great day for football because we showed that we play by the same rules of all the elite clubs.
“We can play in the Champions League next season because what we have done is right, is proper.”
Guardiola also had a message for City’s opponents in both the Premier League and Champions League, as he reminded them that we have earned the right to compete with the biggest clubs in the world.
“I know for the elite clubs, like Liverpool, Manchester United and especially Arsenal, it is uncomfortable us being here,” he explained.
“But they have to understand, we deserve to be here. We want to compete with them and try to achieve like they achieved in the past.
“We deserve to be stronger. We have incredible people working in this club to make it better, to make our fans proud.
“We don’t have to ask permission to be there. We deserve to be there.
“They have to understand it. If they don’t agree they should speak to our Chairman and CEO. Don’t go whispering between eight clubs. Go and do it on the pitch.
“We have made a step forward in 10-years. We invested a lot of money, like a lot of clubs. We did it the right way.
“We have not been banned because we follow the Financial Fair Play rules. If we hadn’t we would have been banned.
“The people have to understand that we are here to compete on the pitch, on the same level as the elite clubs in the Premier League and in Europe too.”
