Manchester City’s Premier League case could take years to conclude, chief executive Ferran Soriano told fellow club executives at a private meeting in Copenhagen.
Soriano is understood to have raised the long-running financial rules case during a meeting of the executive board of the European Football Clubs body. He reportedly referred to the interest of other clubs and said it had been eight years since the allegations were first made.
Sources said Soriano expressed City’s determination to continue fighting the case, which can proceed to an appeal stage while a separate process considers any sanctions.
The Premier League and Manchester City have not denied reports that most of the charges brought against the club were found to have been proven. City were formally charged in February 2023.
Manchester City insists Premier League process is ongoing
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said the club remained confident it would prove its position.
“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,” he said.
A City spokesperson said the process remained ongoing, with “significant elements to be completed” and subject to strict confidentiality.
“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 spokesperson said.
City have consistently rejected the allegations and, when the charges were issued, said they welcomed consideration by an independent commission of what they described as “irrefutable evidence” supporting their position.
Soriano declined to answer questions about the case as he left the private meeting.
