Ferran Soriano tells European club executives Manchester City will keep fighting financial case

Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano told European club executives on Monday that the club would continue fighting its Premier League financial case, according to the Press Association. His remarks came after reports that an independent commission had found City guilty of nearly all the charges against it. The reported finding has brought fresh attention to the club’s position, although the commission’s decision has not been made public.

Soriano was speaking at a European Football Clubs board meeting in Copenhagen ahead of the organisation’s general assembly on Tuesday. The Press Association reported that he said City disagreed with the reported ruling and remained confident of winning. Meeting sources quoted by the agency said Soriano told executives: ‘It’s taken eight years to get here, and it’s going to take a lot more time.’

The eight years referred to the start of the Premier League investigation in 2018, according to the Press Association. Soriano’s reported message therefore addressed both the club’s response to the finding and the time it expects the dispute to continue. The agency said he declined to answer questions from reporters as he left the meeting.

What Soriano said about the case

Reuters gave a different emphasis to Soriano’s comments. Citing a source familiar with the board discussions, it reported that he told executives no decision in the financial case had been made public. Reuters also said Soriano declined to comment to reporters on accounts that City had been found guilty of 114 of 115 alleged breaches. The two reports describe a private meeting; neither provides a full transcript of his remarks.

Al Mubarak told fans there were matters he would like to share to explain that confidence, but said the confidentiality of the process prevented him from doing so. Manchester City separately said the process remained ongoing, with significant elements still to be completed. Those statements set out the club’s position; they do not disclose the commission’s reasoning.

The reported finding

Reports on Friday, 25 September, said City had been found guilty of all but one of 115 charges, according to the Press Association. BBC Sport described the reported outcome as a finding against the club on the vast majority of the charges. No official announcement from the Premier League or public commission decision was identified in the BBC’s account of the case, and the league declined to comment.

The charges concern alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules. BBC Sport reported that the accusations centred on claims City inflated sponsorship revenue from connected companies and made other payments outside the club’s accounts to circumvent financial regulations. Those descriptions concern the allegations underlying the case; the detailed findings and reasoning cannot be assessed from a decision that has not been published.

City were charged in February 2023 after a four-year Premier League investigation, BBC Sport reported. It said the hearing before an independent commission concluded 22 months before the September reports. The charges span the managerial tenures of Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini and the first two years of Pep Guardiola’s tenure, placing the case across several periods of the club’s recent history.

The potential consequences matter beyond City. BBC Sport reported that other Premier League clubs were seeking legal advice about possible compensation connected to the charges. Football law expert Paul Gilroy KC told the BBC that four clubs had lodged protective claims reserving the right to seek compensation if City were found guilty. Those claims do not establish what any club will receive.

Former Manchester City chairman David Bernstein told Times Radio, in comments reported by the BBC, that the appeal process should move quickly because the unresolved case left a cloud over the club. He said he could not give a view on punishment, but believed a financial penalty alone would be insufficient if a guilty finding survived an appeal. His comments were an assessment, not an announced sanction.

The meeting and what comes next

The setting put Soriano’s remarks before executives from across European club football. Reuters reported that about 500 of European Football Clubs’ 850 members were expected at Tuesday’s general assembly in Copenhagen. The Press Association identified Manchester United international football relations chief Jean-Claude Blanc and Everton owner Dan Friedkin, attending as Roma owner, among the English top-flight representatives at Monday’s board meeting.

Reuters reported that City were expected to appeal and that no sanction had been announced. Its account did not establish a timetable for either step. For now, the reported findings, the club’s stated challenge and Soriano’s comments to other executives are the available developments; a public decision would be needed to examine the commission’s conclusions in detail.