Soriano vows to overturn 'conspiracy' verdict as Man City CEO breaks silence on 115 charges

Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano has broken his silence over the independent commission’s guilty verdicts on all 115 financial charges, sending a near four-minute video message to club staff on Tuesday evening in which he described the Premier League’s case as a ‘conspiracy theory’ and promised the club will be ‘vindicated’.

Soriano had not publicly addressed staff since the verdict was leaked on Friday, and declined media requests for comment while attending a sports conference in Copenhagen — though he did signal privately there that City would fight the ruling. His video message, sent to all employees, was the first formal internal communication from club leadership since the panel’s findings emerged.

In the message, Soriano framed the entire case around what he called a single false central accusation: that the club’s owners had secretly funnelled personal money into City through Abu Dhabi-based sponsors. “This is just not true,” he said, insisting that bank statements, money transfers and witness testimony had been provided to the commission to categorically disprove the claim. He argued every other charge stemmed from that one allegation.

“Surprisingly for us, and for our lawyers, after nearly two years the Premier League Commission has introduced an opinion that supports the Premier League’s conspiracy theory,” Soriano said. “To do so, the opinion had to ignore the extensive evidence provided by the club in order to reach a conclusion that is clearly wrong.”

Soriano pointed to City’s 2020 Court of Arbitration for Sport victory — in which a UEFA ban was overturned — as a precedent for the appeal ahead. “Remember we have been here before. In 2020 we were also wrongly ruled against for many of the same issues. We appealed to an independent body in CAS and we won,” he told staff.

The CEO confirmed City’s lawyers will file an appeal arguing the commission’s opinion contains “clear material errors of law, principle and fact” and is “unsafe”. He added that the club intends to pursue “all other legal avenues available” and will seek compensation, urging staff to remain united throughout the process.

The three-man independent panel’s verdict, which found City guilty on every financial charge brought by the Premier League, ends a disciplinary process that has cast a shadow over English football for three years. City’s appeal now moves the case into a fresh independent arbitration process, with no timeline yet confirmed for its conclusion.