European Football Clubs chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi has said the organisation is not in a position to comment on the Premier League's guilty verdict for Manchester City. Al-Khelaifi, who is also the president of Paris Saint-Germain, instead praised Ferran Soriano, the City chief executive who has vowed to fight the decision made official on Tuesday.
City found guilty of financial breaches
City were found guilty, via an independent commission, of arranging "sham contracts" to artificially inflate their commercial income to a figure near £900m between 2009 and 2018. The club were found guilty on 114 of their 115 financial charges. An appeal is set to be lodged before Friday's deadline, and the current Premier League leaders have been widely condemned as speculation over potential punishments continues.
One potential sanction could involve handing over official honours to the runners-up during the years 2009 to 2018, which would see Liverpool posthumously awarded a Premier League title for the 2013/14 term and a League Cup, which they lost on penalties in 2016. Jurgen Klopp's Reds were also runners-up to City in 2019 and 2022, losing out both times by a single point to Pep Guardiola's team. Those seasons, however, fall outside the period investigated following leaked emails published by German publication Der Spiegel in 2018.
Al-Khelaifi refuses to condemn City
In a European Football Clubs (EFC) meeting this week, chair Al-Khelaifi refused to condemn City for the verdict, insisting the outcome of an appeal must be respected as he attempted to defend Soriano, who refused to comment when approached by Sky News in Denmark this week.
"Firstly, we are not here to judge something that is still not a final decision," Khelaifi told those at the 33rd general assembly meeting of the EFC in Copenhagen. "Secondly, we are here to help each other, to support each other. Of course, if there is anything wrong…I'm not a lawyer, but I think that they have the right to appeal, so it is not the final decision.
"And we are not in a position to say [anything]; it is more a Premier League, an English club matter. Let's see where it will go. Ferran has been great to the board. A big asset who adds value to us with his knowledge. His career is fantastic, and Manchester City did a lot of positive things also, but I am not in a position to judge. We are not in a position to judge. We are not judges and we are not a court."
Guardiola breaks silence
On Wednesday, former City boss Guardiola broke his silence with a post on his official Instagram account that went out to his 8.6m followers. He wrote: "I want every single @ManCity fan to know I am here; more than ever. I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran, the players, staff, Enzo (Maresca) and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all."
City deny all charges and will appeal against the decision.
