Man City Chief Executive shares video with club staff saying the guilty charges come from ‘one false accusation’
Manchester City Chief Executive Ferran Soriano recently shared a video message with club staff, saying the Premier League’s case against the club is based on just one false accusation. Last week, reports came out that the Premier League had found Manchester City guilty of nearly all the charges made against them three years ago. On Tuesday, the Premier League confirmed this in an official statement.
Manchester City then responded, saying they were surprised and disappointed by the decision. Soriano went further in his video message, which was leaked online, explaining the club’s side.
The Premier League stated that City broke serious financial rules from 2008/09 to 2017/18 and didn’t cooperate fully with their investigation. They also said City had arranged fake contracts to make the club’s finances look better, with funding from the club’s owner, Abu Dhabi United Group.
But Soriano told staff the accusation that started everything was simply not true. He said the club gave plenty of solid evidence—bank statements, money transfers, and witness statements—that proved the money didn’t come from the owner. According to Soriano, the Premier League ignored this evidence and chose to believe a “conspiracy theory” instead.
Soriano said the club will appeal the decision before the Friday (October 2) deadline. He’s confident they will challenge the ruling, just like they did in 2020 when they won their appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
He also asked everyone at the club to stay focused on their work and support each other during this difficult time. Soriano said, “Soon, we’ll look back at this as one more challenge we overcame together.”
It’s still unclear how long the appeal will take or if City will succeed in overturning the guilty verdicts. The Premier League has not said what punishments might come next. They will hold a private hearing about penalties later, and possible punishments could include big fines, point deductions, transfer bans, or even relegation or removal from the Premier League.
For now, City is preparing to fight the decision and protect the club’s future.