Manchester City have been found guilty of financial charges by a Premier League Independent Commission, and CEO Ferran Soriano has spoken to staff in a leaked video claiming a ‘Premier League conspiracy’
Ferran Soriano, CEO of City Football Group, has alluded to ‘a Premier League conspiracy’ in a video message sent to staff following Manchester City’s guilty verdict on the charges levelled against them.
The club have been found by an Independent Commission to have orchestrated ‘sham contracts’ to inflate revenue over a nine-year span. These actions are alleged to have led City to exaggerate their income by more than £820million from 2009 until 2018.
City continue to assert their innocence and intend to appeal. They have until Friday 2 October to exercise this right.
Soriano has emphasised to club staff that they will pursue every legal route possible to win the case. Regarding the sponsorship issues highlighted, he asserts that City provided ‘irrefutable evidence’.
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By suggesting a Premier League conspiracy, he implies that every allegation against Manchester City stems from a ‘completely false’ accusation of disguised sponsorships.
“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,” Soriano said.
“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.”
In the wake of these revelations, Soriano was approached by Sky News for a comment. “The Premier League confirms you cheated for nearly a decade, do you apologise to football fans?” asked the reporter.
“I have nothing to say,” was his reply. He then ignored further questions about the club’s confidence in winning the appeal and whether Manchester City are a sham of a club.
When asked if he had a duty to send a message to football fans, Soriano simply said: ‘Thank you,’ and walked away.