Jose Mourinho has made light of the interminable nature of Manchester City‘s financial case, suggesting that men of his generation may be fortunate simply to live long enough to see it reach a conclusion.
The Real Madrid manager, who has crossed swords with City on English football’s biggest stages during stints at Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham, was asked about the long-running Premier League case in an interview with Corriere dello Sport. True to form, Mourinho chose humour over outrage.
“I prefer to laugh a little because I think we will have an end,” he said. “But we two [addressing the interviewer], who are in our 60s, have to have the luck to still be here when the final sentence arrives, because now a sentence will arrive and then an appeal.”
No end in sight as legal battle continuesÂ
An independent commission ruled against City on all but one of the 115 charges brought by the Premier League, finding the club guilty of serious breaches of financial regulations spanning a nine-season period between 2009 and 2018.
City have denied wrongdoing throughout and have lodged what they describe as a “comprehensive” appeal, insisting the original verdict contains “clear material errors” of law, principle and fact.
Crucially, the guilty verdict is only the first stage of a two-part process. A separate, confidential hearing is still required to determine sanctions, meaning the full consequences of the ruling remain unknown.
With City’s appeal still to be heard by a fresh three-person panel, the timeline for a definitive resolution stretches well into the future, lending weight to Mourinho’s gallows humour about simply surviving long enough to see it through.
It is a case that has cast a shadow over English football for the best part of eight years, ever since leaked documents first triggered the Premier League’s investigation in 2018.
Formal charges followed in 2023, a lengthy hearing ran through late 2024, and deliberations took months more before the verdict finally emerged this autumn. Few in the game expect the appeal process to move any faster.
Maresca left to focus on the pitch
While lawyers prepare for the next stage of the dispute, the day-to-day business of actually running Manchester City falls to Enzo Maresca.
The Italian, who has previously managed Chelsea and Leicester City and spent time on Guardiola’s coaching staff at the Etihad, has already had to face the media over the guilty verdict, and the subject is unlikely to go away any time soon.
For now, Maresca’s attention is on results rather than courtrooms. City travel to Anfield this weekend, with the club sitting at the top of the Premier League table despite the legal turmoil hanging over it.
The challenge now is to keep winning on the pitch while the legal process grinds on in the background — a balancing act Maresca will have to manage for what could be years to come.
