Pep Guardiola breaks his silence on the City scandal: "We will overcome it together"

LondonThe independent commission in charge of investigating the 115 charges brought by the Premier League against Manchester City has concluded that the club "seriously and systematically" breached the competition's financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. According to the resolution, City – bought in 2008 by Sheikh Mansour, owner of the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), the investment vehicle of the emirate's royal family – used "fictitious commercial contracts" and other deceptive accounting mechanisms to artificially inflate its revenue. In this way, the club also managed to reduce its expenses by more than 900 million pounds. Thus, a more favorable financial situation than the reality was presented.

Pep Guardiola, who arrived at City in 2016 and coached it until last season, has broken his silence. In a statement written in English and shared on his social media, the Catalan coach underscored his unconditional support for the club, the executives, the players, and the fans: "I am here, more than ever. I have always been and will be with my club. We will get through this together. I love you all."

The decision officially published on Tuesday addresses why the commission considers 114 of the 115 charges to be proven, a fact that was already pointed out in the aforementioned leaks. The central element of the resolution –called the Core Decision– is the finding that Manchester City resorted over the nine seasons to various commercial agreements that did not reflect the economic reality of the operations. These "fictitious contracts" with several of its commercial sponsors were part of the system to hide more than 830 million pounds in "secret funding," according to the Premier League.

The simulated agreements appeared to have different conditions from those actually agreed upon between the parties. The club thus recorded higher commercial revenues than it actually obtained and, at the same time, presented expenses lower than the real ones. The mechanism implied that several of City's sponsors would have only paid a portion of the amounts that were formally listed as sponsorship income. The rest was funded directly by the Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), the entity that owns the club.

But the reaction from Manchester City –whose executive director has been the former Barça vice-president Ferran Soriano since 2012–, was not long in coming. In a statement issued mid-afternoon, it can be read that "the club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League." It defends itself by saying that "there is an extensive body of irrefutable evidence that supports all of its positions in relation to this case."

Furthermore, in an internal message addressed to the staff of the club, Soriano asserts that "the entire Premier League case against us is based on a single false accusation: that the owner's personal money was somehow, and secretly, introduced into the club through some Abu Dhabi sponsors." Soriano asserts that "this is simply not true." The evidence presented to the commission that reinforces his statement, adds the club's chief executive, "includes bank statements, money transfers, testimonies, and everything necessary to categorically prove that the money did not come from the owner."

Manchester City has until Friday to appeal this verdict, which it will do as follows from the aforementioned public statement, and as Soriano confirms in his message to the employees. City also accuses the competition's governing body of "not acting as an independent, impartial, and objective regulator, free from partisan influences." And, in the internal video, he goes even further and asserts that the verdict "supports the Premier League's conspiracy theory."

Financial sustainability

In the 40 pages –partially redacted– of the explosive decision, it is highlighted that City's practices had a determining importance, as compliance with the league's financial sustainability rules and UEFA's financial fair play depended on the figures declared by the clubs. The commission concludes that, had the actual income and costs been calculated, Manchester City would have significantly exceeded the limits established by both organizations. For this reason, the matter is not limited to a formal or administrative issue, but directly affects the legality of its economic management during a key period of its transformation into one of the main powers of English and European football.

The tribunal has also analyzed City's behavior during the investigation. In this area, it concludes that the club violated its obligations of cooperation and good faith with the Premier League in three of the four charges. According to the resolution, the lack of collaboration hindered the development of the inquiries and constitutes an additional infringement of the competition's regulations.

Faced with these conclusions, the Premier League considers that a "systemic breach" of its rules over nearly a decade by the club has been demonstrated. The competition's chief executive, Richard Masters, has described the proceedings as the most important in the league's history and has stated that the resolution establishes the facts regarding what happened during the investigated period.

Despite the forcefulness of the verdict, the case is not yet closed. While the commission has determined the facts it considers proven, it has not yet set any sanctions. The process, therefore, is not over. The Premier League and City will now have to face a new phase to determine the potential corresponding sanction. This hearing will take place before the same independent commission and, in accordance with the competition's rules, will be private and confidential until the result can be published. Among the penalties provided for by the rules are fines, points deductions, and other sporting measures.

For the moment, the resolution does not annul any title won by the club. The chief executive of the Premier League, Richard Masters, has assured that "the disciplinary procedure and the decision are the most significant in the history of the Premier League". And he has highlighted that they want to move forward "with speed in the rest of the process to provide certainty to the League, to our clubs and to the fans". The investigation against City began in December 2018.