Manchester City CEO Soriano dismisses Premier League charges as conspiracy

Ferran Soriano, the chief executive of Manchester City, stated that the guilty verdicts against the club for financial rule violations stem from "a single false accusation" and a "Premier League conspiracy theory," asserting the club's innocence.

An independent panel confirmed on Tuesday that City had, over nine years, artificially inflated revenue and reduced costs by over £900m. This was allegedly achieved through sponsorship deals, primarily funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club, described as "sham" arrangements.

In a video message to City staff following the confirmation of the guilty verdict on more than 100 charges, Soriano announced the club's intention to appeal and fight the case.

"The entire Premier League case against us is built on one false claim: that the owner's personal funds were secretly channeled into the club through Abu Dhabi sponsors," Soriano explained. "This is untrue. The Premier League commission received irrefutable evidence showing this could not and did not happen. This evidence includes bank statements, money transfers, and witness testimonies, all definitively proving the money did not originate from the owner."

City awaits further hearings to determine their sanctions, but the club remains confident in overturning the initial decision.

"Every other false charge brought against us originates from this simple, central, and entirely false accusation. To our and our lawyers' surprise, after nearly two years, the commission has issued an opinion supporting the Premier League's conspiracy theory."

"To reach this conclusion, the opinion had to disregard the extensive evidence provided by the club, leading to a clearly incorrect outcome. Our lawyers will now file an appeal, outlining that the opinion contains clear, significant errors in law, principle, and fact, rendering it unsafe."