MANCHESTER CITY CEO Ferran Soriano has blasted the “Premier League conspiracy theory” after an independent commission found the club guilty on all charges of financial breaches of league rules.
On Tuesday the of all charges relating to serious breaches of the Prem’s financial rules and the majority of charges in terms of failure to co-operate with the investigation.
The commission’s verdict found to have arranged “sham contracts” and make “sham agreements with others”, and misstating their accounts and true nature of their finances to the tune of over £900million between 2009 and 2018 as part of a
However, City hit back in a statement of their own, claiming they had “irrefutable evidence” supporting their case.
And in a leaked video to staff, club CEO Soriano defended the club, saying the Prem case was based on “a single false accusation”.
In a three-and-a-half minute video, he said: “A document has been made public with an opinion of the Premier League commission which is negative to our interests. I want to explain exactly what this is…
“This has gone on for so long, but it’s important to remind ourselves 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 from some sponsors in Abu Dhabi. This is not true.
“Irrefutable evidence has been provided to show it could not happen and it did not happen.
“This includes bank transfers, money transfers, witnesses and everything necessary to categorically demonstrate 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 that simple, central and completely false accusation.
“Surprisingly for us, and our lawyers, after nearly two years the Prem commission has issued 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.”
Soriano, 59, confirmed City would appeal the decision by setting out how the opinion contains “clear material errors of law, principle and fact and is unsafe”.
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He added the club had “been here before” in 2020 when they appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and won.
Soriano continued: “We will now be relentless in our work and focus on the independent appeal process and all other legal avenues available to us to win the case.
“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.”
He rounded out the video by asking staff to remain focused on their work.
What are Man City charged with?
THE Premier League claim Man City hid £900m in 'sham' deals across a nine-year period.
They were found guilty on 114 of the initial 115 charges – with the number now up to 130 charges – which fit into six categories…
- Failing to give accurate financial information over sponsorship revenue, related parties and operating costs between 2009-10 and 2017/18. Total charges: 50
- Failing to provide full details of managerial remuneration between 2009/10 and 2012/13. Total charges 8
- Failing to provide full details of player remuneration between 2010/11 and 2015/16. Total charges 12
- Failing to comply with Uefa Licencing and Financial Fair Play regulations between 2013/14 and 2017/18. Total charges 5
- Breaching Premier League Profitability and Sustainability rules between 2015/16 and 2017/18. Total charges 25
- Failing to co-operate with the Premier League investigation between 2018/19 and 2022/23. Total charges 30
- Total charges: 130
