Man City were charged by the Premier League in February 2023 with more than 100 alleged breaches of the league's financial rules
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Former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson has revealed why he believed the outcome of his old club’s hearing into its 115 charges of alleged Premier League financial rule breaches could come this week. City were charged in February 2023 with 115 alleged breaches of top-flight financial rules and with failing to co-operate with the subsequent investigation.
The Etihad club, who have denied all wrongdoing, faced a hearing in front of an independent commission before Christmas, and Pep Guardiola claimed back in February that a verdict was expected within a month. However, no verdict has yet to be delivered, and Borson has warned the Premier League they face a 'complete disaster' if they don’t announce the outcome before the start of the new season.
"I think City must be quite close… I think there's been a lot of misinformation about that situation,” he told talkSPORT.
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“If you have a 12-week trial, it takes a long time for the decision to come out. In the outside world, it could easily take 12 or 18 months in a High Court equivalent.
"This week felt possible. I thought that if it didn't happen in the international window that we had in April, that the parties would find a way to hold it over until the end of the season so that it didn't distract.
"We're now in a zone where, commercially, if there's any influence at all from the parties – the Premier League or the club – they would want to get that decision out during the close season.
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"What's the alternative? That it comes out in that three-week period after the Club World Cup but before the start of the season. And that’s sub-optimal.
"We're getting very close to a situation where, if it doesn't come out in the next couple weeks and doesn't come out during the Club World Cup, you're getting very close to the start of the season. Nobody's going to want that. That is a complete disaster."
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak revealed last month he will speak openly about the charges once there is a ruling.
He said: “Well, I suppose the only thing I can say is we still don’t have a ruling. Once there’s a ruling, I’ll be able to speak about it. Until then we just have to be patient, and it’ll come, and we will talk about it, I promise you, once we have the ruling.”
While speaking on The Overlap, former Manchester United defender Gary Neville blasted the time it has taken with the case still unresolved.
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"That Manchester City case is a disgrace; it's an absolute stain to the game," he said. "I have a lot of admiration for City, but I don't buy into this theory that clubs do really well, and City have, but it is still a stain to the game.
"It has just been dragging on for years and years, it's an absolute joke. Yes, City have been defending themselves, but they've been pushing it so far into the long grass that you end up losing the will to live on it and you forget about it. It just needs to be dealt with."