In Copenhagen, where European clubs had gathered for their general assembly, Manchester City’s most senior executive found no words for the question hanging over the English champions. Ferran Soriano left his place after declining to address the finding that City had been found guilty in a case involving 115 financial-rule breaches.
The Premier League announced on Tuesday that an independent commission had upheld every charge concerning serious breaches of its financial regulations across nine seasons, as well as most of the allegations that City had failed to cooperate with the investigation.
Approached by a television reporter shortly after the decision became public, Soriano was asked what he wished to say to football supporters. “I have nothing to say, thank you,” the City chief executive replied. He did not answer further questions, including whether the club remained confident of succeeding in an appeal, whether its achievements had been compromised, or whether City were damaging the wider game.
Nine seasons under scrutiny
The 115 charges were first brought more than three years ago and concerned the period from 2008-09 through to 2017-18. The commission’s ruling held City responsible for using arrangements with certain companies that artificially increased reported revenue while lowering apparent costs.
It also found that the club submitted inaccurate accounts and withheld financial information from football authorities. The judgment included breaches of Premier League and UEFA financial limits, alongside failures relating to cooperation, good faith and the duty to deal openly and loyally with the Premier League investigation.
For Soriano, the encounter in Denmark ended with a visibly frustrated departure rather than an explanation. The legal process now moves into its next phase, with City expected to challenge a verdict that reaches back across a defining era in the club’s rise from Manchester to the centre of the continental game.
