Ferran Soriano Says Manchester City’s Premier League Case Is Far From Over

Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano has warned that the club’s dispute with the Premier League is far from its conclusion, telling European club executives that a process which began eight years ago will require considerably more time. His intervention followed reports on Friday that City had been found responsible for 114 of the 115 financial-rule allegations brought against them, a position the club continues to reject.

City maintain confidence in their case

Soriano raised the matter at a European Football Clubs board meeting in Copenhagen on Monday. He said City disputed the reported ruling, remained convinced they would prevail and were continuing to contest the case.

Referring to the Premier League investigation opened in 2018, Soriano told those present that it had taken eight years to reach this point and would take much longer still. He did not answer questions from reporters after the meeting.

• Manchester United’s chief of international football relations, Jean-Claude Blanc, attended the Copenhagen gathering.
• Everton owner Dan Friedkin was also present through his role as Roma owner.
• Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak had written to City supporters on Saturday, saying the club was confident it could establish its innocence.
• City said the process was still under way, with major stages yet to be completed and confidentiality requirements remaining in force.

In its position issued on Friday, City said it had followed due process throughout the eight-year period. The club said it expected the Premier League board and executive to act as an independent and impartial regulator, without partisan influence.

Allegations cover finances, contracts and co-operation

The charges concern City’s reporting of financial information across nine seasons beginning in 2009, the year Roberto Mancini became manager. The club has firmly denied the allegations.

• One allegation concerns whether full information was supplied on Mancini’s remuneration from 2009-10 through 2012-13.
• Further charges concern the disclosure of player-contract payments between 2010-11 and 2015-16.
• City were also accused of insufficient co-operation with the Premier League inquiry between 2018 and 2023.

The Premier League has not made a public comment since the reported verdict emerged. Mancini, now 61 and in his second spell as Italy coach, was asked about the issue before Italy’s Nations League fixture against Turkey in Bursa.

Mancini said the matter did not concern him and had already been discussed for four or five years. He added that City had not been found guilty and that any purported double-contract issue was for the club rather than him to address.

During Mancini’s time in charge, City won the 2011 FA Cup and ended a 44-year wait for a league championship by taking the top-flight title in 2012.

Former players and rivals offer sharply different views

Graeme Souness, the former Liverpool midfielder and manager, argued that City’s standing and honours could be damaged beyond repair if the case ultimately went against them. He said the club’s legacy would be gone, that successes from the relevant period should potentially be removed from the record, and that Liverpool could have a claim to additional Premier League titles.

Souness also questioned whether a financial penalty would carry sufficient weight for a club with City’s resources. He said relegation was uncertain and warned that the dispute could create consequences extending beyond football.

Former City goalkeeper Joe Hart took the opposite view, backing Al Mubarak’s assurance. Hart, who was with City from 2006 to 2016, said he had no reason to doubt the chairman and was calm about the situation.

Hart said discussions would be necessary if City were eventually found guilty, but maintained that, based on Al Mubarak’s statement, he did not expect that outcome. He added that he remained proud of his own achievements and the team’s accomplishments at the club, and said that view would not change unless an outcome required it.