Roberto Mancini met questions about Manchester City’s financial case with a nervous laugh on Monday, as the former City manager insisted the matter was not his concern.
Speaking before Italy’s Nations League meeting with Turkey, the 61-year-old was asked about allegations linked to his four-year spell at the English club. His response was initially blunt: “Guilty of what?”
Quick facts
- Mancini managed Manchester City from 2009 until 2013.
- He won the Premier League, FA Cup and Community Shield during that period.
- Manchester City have reportedly been found responsible for 114 of 115 alleged financial breaches.
- Possible punishments could include the removal of honours won between 2009 and 2018.
- A reported second contract involving Mancini is among the issues connected to the case.
The Italian coach was in charge when the earliest alleged breaches are said to have occurred. A journalist raised the reported dual-contract arrangement from his time in England, prompting Mancini to distance himself from the issue.
“It does not concern me,” he said. “This is not a new subject; it has been discussed over the last four or five years. Manchester City have not been found guilty, and the alleged second contract is not something I am worried about. It is their issue, not mine.”
The case has cast fresh doubt over a major period in City’s modern rise. Mancini delivered the club’s first league title in 44 years in 2012, alongside the 2011 FA Cup and the following Community Shield.
Any decision to strip trophies from the period between 2009 and 2018 would reach far beyond Mancini’s own tenure. For now, the Italy manager has made clear that he does not intend to be drawn into the dispute surrounding his former club.
