Mancini dismisses Man City guilty verdict as 'not my problem' amid off-books pay claims

Roberto Mancini has publicly brushed aside Manchester City’s landmark guilty verdict, declaring the club’s financial misconduct findings are “not my problem” — even as he remains personally implicated in the alleged off-books payment scheme at the heart of the case.

An independent Premier League commission found City guilty of breaching financial rules on 114 of the 115 charges brought against the club in 2023. The breaches are alleged to span from 2009 — the year Mancini was appointed manager — through to 2018, a period during which the Italian is accused of receiving undisclosed payments under a second contract.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Mancini also entered a separate agreement with Al Jazira, an Abu Dhabi club owned by City’s majority shareholder Sheikh Mansour, worth £1.7 million for a minimum of four days’ consultancy work per year.

Speaking ahead of Italy’s Nations League fixture against Turkey on Monday, Mancini — now in his second spell as Italy head coach — was unequivocal in his dismissal of the findings. “I don’t think Manchester City were found guilty, quite the opposite,” the 61-year-old said. “It’s not a problem that concerns me, and it isn’t anything new. Manchester City are not guilty, and on the double contract it isn’t my problem, theirs if anything.”

City themselves have consistently maintained their innocence throughout the lengthy legal process. On Saturday, club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak addressed supporters directly, reaffirming his confidence in the club’s position. “The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the Club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began,” Al Mubarak wrote in a letter to fans.

The chairman acknowledged the constraints of the ongoing legal proceedings, noting that strict confidentiality rules prevented him from sharing the full basis for the club’s confidence. “There are so many things that I would like to be able to share with you to help you understand why we feel so confident in our position,” he wrote, adding that even the letter itself had undergone legal review before publication.

With the commission’s process still ongoing and sanctions yet to be determined, City face a potentially defining period in their history — one that Mancini, for now, appears determined to watch from a distance.