Defiant Man City chief stuns Premier League rivals with shock speech at secret meeting and vows to fight guilty verdict

MANCHESTER CITY chief executive Ferran Soriano defiantly told European club bosses the Etihad outfit are digging in for a long-term fight to prove their innocence.

Soriano declined to comment when he arrived in Copenhagen ahead of today’s general assembly of the powerful European Football Clubs organisation.

But in a late evening meeting of the EFC’s ruling board, including TWO Prem rivals, the Etihad exec surprised those present by standing up to make a declaration.

In what was an implicit confirmation that the Prem’s independent commission has ruled that City were guilty of the vast majority of the 130 allegations of breaching financial rules, Soriano told the room that he felt he had to make a brief statement.

According to sources who were present at the meeting, Soriano said he wanted to make it clear that he disagreed with the ruling of the commission, and that he and City were confident of eventually winning their battle.

The Spaniard then added: “It’s taken eight years to get there – and it’s going to take a lot more time.”

Jean-Claude Blanc, head of Ineos Sport and chief of international football relations at Manchester United, and Everton owner Dan Friedkin – there in his similar role with Roma – were both present as Soriano made his unexpected comment.

It was a signal of City’s continued insistence that the allegations they faced were groundless, despite the commission findings.

And it comes as top flight clubs are piling the pressure on Prem chiefs to release the full written verdict.

Club bosses were informed of the general thrust and findings on Thursday, leading to four days of frantic speculation and responses.

But so far the details and reasonings behind the independent commission’s ruling remain unclear.

That has frustrated a number of Prem outfits, who feel that the longer the situation remains unclarified, the worse it is for the entire League.

One club source explained: “Since Friday, everybody is talking about City – but we still don’t know exactly what the findings were.

“That just leaves a void – and the best thing for everyone is that it is filled quickly.”

Another Prem insider added: “It’s no good for anyone that City is the biggest topic in football and we are all still unsure what was actually decided.

“Clarity would be good for the entire Premier League.”

More to follow…