Man City CEO Soriano: Premier League Fight ‘Could Take Years’

Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano said the club’s battle with the Premier League over its 115 financial charges could stretch on for years, even after an independent commission found the club guilty of all but one of the alleged breaches. Soriano’s comments, reported by Sky Sports on September 28, 2026, came three days after news broke that City had lost the disciplinary case first brought by the Premier League in February 2023, with punishment still undetermined.

Direct answer: Manchester City‘s guilty verdict on 114 of 115 Premier League financial charges, first reported on September 25, 2026, has not resolved the case. Chief executive Ferran Soriano said the process of appeals and sanctions could take years, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has told fans the club remains confident of proving its innocence, and no punishment has yet been announced.

What Soriano Said About the Timeline

Speaking on September 28, 2026, Soriano said Manchester City’s fight with the Premier League could take years to conclude, according to Sky Sports. A City spokesperson added that the process “remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed,” signalling that Friday’s reported verdict is not the final word on the case.

The Premier League and Manchester City have not formally denied reports that an independent panel found the club guilty of the majority of the charges. The Athletic’s David Ornstein first reported the outcome on September 25, 2026, stating the club had been found guilty of all but one of the 115 alleged rule breaches, according to Reuters.

Al Mubarak’s Message to Fans

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak published an open letter to supporters on September 26, 2026, insisting the club remained confident of ultimately proving its innocence. Al Mubarak wrote that the club’s position “is just as strong as when this began,” according to Reuters, and that Manchester City FC’s stance “remains consistent with the club’s statement of February 2023,” the month the charges were originally filed.

The Guardian reported on September 26, 2026, that Al Mubarak told fans “nothing has changed” despite the reported guilty verdict, framing the ruling as one stage in a longer legal process that City intends to appeal. Manchester City has always denied wrongdoing since the Premier League brought the case in February 2023.

Background: A Case Three and a Half Years in the Making

The Premier League charged Manchester City with 115 breaches of its financial rules in February 2023, covering alleged conduct dating back to the 2009-10 season under owners City Football Group, led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The charges span accusations relating to accurately disclosing financial information, sponsorship arrangements, manager and player remuneration, and cooperation with Premier League investigators.

An independent commission heard the case over more than three years before reportedly reaching its decision, which was first disclosed by The Athletic and then widely reported by outlets including the BBC, CNN, and Al Jazeera on September 25, 2026. Reports say the panel found City guilty of 114 of the 115 charges, with the club having contested every allegation since they were first announced.

What Happens Next: Sanctions and Appeal

No punishment has yet been confirmed. Under Premier League disciplinary procedure, the independent commission must still determine sanctions, which could range from a fine to a points deduction or, in the most severe scenario floated by commentators, expulsion from the league — though legal experts cited across UK outlets have cautioned that outcome remains unlikely given the scale of legal challenge it would invite.

Manchester City has signalled it intends to appeal any adverse finding, a process that, per Soriano’s comments, could extend the saga by years rather than months. The club previously won a separate, related case against the Premier League at arbitration in 2024 over rules governing Associated Party Transactions, a result City cited at the time as vindication of its broader legal position.

Reaction From Elsewhere in the Game

The reported verdict has drawn reaction from across English football. City manager Pep Guardiola has previously said he trusts the club’s ownership and legal team to handle the case, while rival clubs and supporter groups have called for clarity on when sanctions will be decided. The Guardian’s September 26 report noted reaction from figures in football and entertainment, including musician and Manchester City supporter Noel Gallagher, reflecting the case’s reach beyond the football press into mainstream British public life.

The financial fair play battle sits alongside wider governance debates in English and global football. Elsewhere in the game, FIFA has faced its own financial pressure this month: UEFA and Concacaf wrote to FIFA president Gianni Infantino calling on football’s global governing body to pay at least $10 million (£7.5 million) to each of its 211 member associations from cash reserves built up after the 2026 World Cup, according to a September 18, 2026 report from the BBC. The letter, signed by UEFA’s Aleksander Ceferin and Concacaf’s Victor Montagliani, argued FIFA should make funding available for “investment in infrastructure and football development” over the 2027-30 cycle. Both disputes — City’s fight with the Premier League and the federations’ demands of FIFA — underscore how governance and finance have become as central to the sport’s news cycle in 2026 as results on the pitch.

Timeline of the Manchester City Charges Case

Why This Matters for the Premier League

The case is widely described by British football media as the most significant financial disciplinary matter in Premier League history, given Manchester City’s status as reigning-era dominant force with six league titles won since City Football Group’s 2008 takeover. A confirmed points deduction or other sanction could alter competitive outcomes retroactively, a scenario without precedent at this scale in English top-flight football. This context connects to broader ownership scrutiny across the league, including recent transfer-market activity such as the wider shifts in how major clubs and ownership groups structure high-value football deals, which regulators and rival clubs alike have watched closely amid record European transfer spending this year.

How we know: This article is based on reporting from Sky Sports, Reuters, The Guardian, the BBC, The Athletic, CNN and Al Jazeera published between September 25 and September 28, 2026. Direct quotes are attributed to named club officials as reported by those outlets. No sanction or punishment had been officially confirmed by the Premier League or an independent commission as of publication, and this article does not speculate on the eventual penalty beyond outlining possibilities discussed in the cited reporting.

What to Watch Next

• Formal confirmation of sanctions from the independent Premier League commission, not yet announced as of September 28, 2026
• Manchester City’s expected appeal process, which CEO Ferran Soriano indicated could last years
• Any statement from the Premier League itself, which has not formally confirmed or denied the reported verdict
• Reaction from rival Premier League clubs and supporter groups as the sanctions process unfolds
• Parallel governance pressure on FIFA from UEFA and Concacaf over distribution of World Cup revenue to member federations

Sources

• could take years to conclude — skysports.com
• Reuters — reuters.com
• BBC — bbc.co.uk
• BBC — bbc.com
• Manchester City CEO tells other club execs fight against Premier League charges far from over — nytimes.com

Photo via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)