Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano has hit back strongly at the Premier League following the independent commission’s verdict against the club, describing the case as a “Premier League conspiracy theory.”
City were found guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules covering a nine-season period between 2009/10 and 2017/18. The commission also found that the club breached several obligations to cooperate with the league’s investigation.
However, Soriano remains adamant that Manchester City have done nothing wrong and believes the club will eventually clear its name.
In a message to City staff, the chief executive said the entire case was built around what he described as a “single false accusation” — the allegation that money belonging to the club’s owner was secretly channelled into Manchester City through sponsorship agreements involving Abu Dhabi companies.
“This is just not true,” Soriano said, insisting that the club had provided what it considers irrefutable evidence to the commission.
According to the City chief, the evidence included bank statements, money transfers and witness accounts which, in his view, demonstrated that the money did not come from the owner through the sponsorship arrangements.
Soriano also claimed that the other allegations against the club stemmed from the same central accusation.
“Surprisingly for us and for our lawyers, after nearly two years, the Premier League commission has issued an opinion that supports the Premier League’s conspiracy theory,” he said.
The independent commission, however, reached a different conclusion. It found that Manchester City had used contracts it described as “sham” arrangements with commercial partners, which it said artificially inflated the club’s revenues and reduced its costs. The commission also found that City had filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators.
City have rejected the findings and are preparing to appeal the decision.
Soriano said the club’s legal team believes the commission’s opinion contains “clear material errors” of law, principle and fact, and he confirmed that Manchester City would continue fighting the case through the appeal process and other legal avenues available to them.
The City chief also pointed to the club’s successful 2020 appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, when a two-year UEFA competition ban was overturned.
“We have been here before,” Soriano said, referring to that case.
Manchester City now face another major chapter in the long-running financial dispute. While the guilty verdict has been delivered, the separate process concerning potential sanctions is still to come.
For now, City’s position remains clear: the club disputes the findings and intends to fight the decision rather than accept the verdict.
Soriano ended his message by urging City employees to remain focused on their work while the club continues its legal battle.
The dispute is therefore far from over, with Manchester City preparing for what could be a lengthy appeal process as they attempt to overturn the commission’s findings.
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