Man City news: Ferran Soriano video, club statement and charges punishment verdict

· Mirror

Manchester City have released several statements in the wake of the Premier League announcing their 115 financial charges verdict

Manchester City continue to protest their innocence despite being found guilty of 114 out of 115 charges. The majority of charges were over a nine-year period but the one breach not proven was in relation to failing to co-operate with the Premier League's investigation.

A statement released on Tuesday from the Premier League announced the findings of the independent commission on Tuesday with it stated City had had arranged "sham contracts" with commercial partners, and had been "relying on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs".

City's response to that was particularly direct with club CEO Ferran Soriano sending a video message to staff members while also boldly claiming there is a "Premier League conspiracy theory" against the club.

With all of that in mind, Mirror Sport has compiled everything you need to know about their potential punishment, what key figures are saying and what is likely to happen next.

The official statements and clear verdicts

A Man City spokesperson, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Ferran Soriano, the Premier League and Richard Masters have all made official comments regarding this case. Damning assessments have also been delivered by the likes of Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

Starting from the very beginning — which in this instance was only last Friday — almost immediately after the alleged guilty verdict was leaked, a definitive statement was issued through official channels via a City spokesperson.

It said: "The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality. As such Manchester City FC's position remains consistent with the Club's statement of February 2023.

> "The Club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence."

Fewer than 24 hours later, club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak weighed in, making it abundantly clear that "the process still has a long way to run" while insisting that despite the "noise swirling around us, nothing has changed".

His statement read: "I have been part of this Club for 18 years. I have had the privilege to stand with you in the Etihad, at Wembley, and in Istanbul. This Club matters to me, and you have shown and told me – time and time again - how much Manchester City matters to you. This is why I am writing to you today.

> "Following Friday's media reporting, many of you will have spent your evening answering questions and responding to messages from friends, family and colleagues. So have I. Here's what I said to my family: The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the Club's innocence is just as strong as when this began.

> "There are so many things that I would like to be able to share with you to help you understand why we feel so confident in our position. But the strict confidentiality of the legal process and our determination to respect it means I cannot do that at the moment. Even this letter underwent several legal checks to make sure it complies.

> "While some people have been quick to reach their own conclusions, and there is so much noise swirling around us, nothing has changed. We have faced challenges together before and have prevailed. There remain many who want to undermine the momentum of our Club. We will not give them that opportunity."

The Premier League initially declined to comment on the matter, but on Tuesday evening, a statement was issued where they confirmed that City had been found guilty of all financial charges. The single breach out of 115 that was not proven relates to City's co-operation with the investigation.

The Premier League statement in full read: "An independent Commission has found Manchester City FC guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a nine-season period, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League's investigation.

> "The independent Commission found that between Seasons 2009/10 and 2017/18:- Manchester City arranged 'sham' contracts (which misrepresented the true agreement between the parties) with a number of its commercial partners, as well as relying on 'sham' agreements with others, to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs.

> "The club filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators- Manchester City was significantly in breach of both the Premier League's and UEFA's spending limits- During the Premier League's investigation, Manchester City committed multiple breaches of its duties of co-operation and utmost good faith towards the League (three of the four alleged breaches were upheld).

> "The independent Commission found that Manchester City arranged 'sham' commercial deals with a number of its sponsors during the period, which were part of a disguised funding scheme, whereby those companies were only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees. The remainder was funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.

> "As part of the scheme, further 'sham' arrangements, funded by ADUG, were entered into to enable the club to record lower operating expenses than it actually incurred, as well as a 'sham' circular arrangement with Fordham, an entity that purchased the club's players' image rights, that was funded by ADUG.

> "The purpose of these schemes was found to have been to artificially inflate the club's revenues, and reduce its costs, by more than £900 million during the affected period, to appear to comply with financial rules.

> "The consequence of this, as the Commission found, was that the club filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators. The Commission concluded that 'by its conduct the club clearly intended to circumvent the PL Rules'.

> "As a result, Manchester City failed to accurately report its income and expenditure for the purposes of the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules and UEFA's Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Rules. The Commission found that, had all of the relevant agreements been reported accurately in the club's accounts, it would have been in breach of both the League's and UEFA's spending limits by a very substantial amount.

> "In addition, during the course of the four-year investigation conducted by the Premier League, the club committed multiple breaches of its duties of co-operation and utmost good faith towards the League. The Commission concluded that the club had 'made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the PL investigation'."

Premier League Chief Executive Officer Richard Masters has repeatedly been pressed over recent years for updates on the case, but was legally unable to comment. That has now changed, with his remarks featured at the end of the Premier League's official statement.

He said: "The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade.

> "It also vindicates the Premier League's decision to pursue this case against Manchester City. While the process to date has been both long and difficult, the League has remained determined that the facts be established independently.

> "It is a key responsibility of the Premier League to ensure that the Rules, approved by the clubs themselves, are upheld to protect the integrity of the competition. It is paramount that the League remains competitive and fair for all clubs and for the fans. We take that role extremely seriously.

> "This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history. There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches. Now we have the Commission's decision, we are committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process, to provide certainty for the League, our clubs and fans."

The extensive statement from the Premier League was especially critical of City, but the club remained resolute in their response.

City's latest statement read: "Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission, that has been published today.

> "The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. The Club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.

> "The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements uncompleted. Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.

> "The Club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence. The Club is obviously restricted in what it can say further until all future proceedings are complete."

Soriano, who had already made comments on the verdict in an unofficial capacity this past weekend, then issued a video message to staff members. He said: "I want to share some information related to the ongoing disciplinary process between Manchester City and the Premier League.

> "A document has been made public with an opinion of the Premier League commission that is negative to our interests. I want to explain exactly what this is, the next steps and how we are going to continue to defend the club, and finally be vindicated in this process.

> "This has gone for so long that it is important to remind ourselves that the whole Premier League case against us is based on a single false accusation - that the owners' personal money was somehow and secretly put into the club via some sponsors from Abu Dhabi. This is just not true.

> "Irrefutable evidence has been provided to the Premier League commission that shows that it could not happen and that it did not happen. This includes bank statements, money transfers, witnesses and everything necessary to categorically demonstrate that the money did not come from the owner. Every other false charge that has been thrown at us - and aggressively marketed and promoted - comes from the simple, central, and completely false accusation.

> "Surprisingly for us, and for our lawyers, after nearly two years the Premier League Commission has introduced an opinion that supports the Premier League's conspiracy theory. To do so, the opinion had to ignore the extensive evidence provided by the club in order to reach a conclusion that is clearly wrong.

> "Our lawyers will now file an appeal that sets out the opinion contains clear material errors of law, principle and fact and it is unsafe. Remember we have been here before. In 2020 we were also wrongly ruled against for many of the same issues. We appealed to an independent body in CAS and we won.

> "We will now be relentless in our work. We will focus on the independent appeal process and also all other legal avenues available to us in order to win the case, and we will take all necessary action to protect the club and seek compensation from any party that tries to damage it now, and in the future.

> "I know this can be a bit of a distraction but please remain focused on our business and take care of our extended City family as we always do. Please follow the normal protocols in referring to fan, partner and media enquiries. Very soon we will look back at this and recognise it is another time in our history when we dealt with adversity and overcame it together."

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