Pep Guardiola and Khaldoon Al Mubarak celebrate winning the Premier League title
Pep Guardiola and Khaldoon Al Mubarak celebrate winning the Premier League title
Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano has been described as “combative but embarrassed” in the wake of the club’s guilty verdict, as Pep Guardiola books his return to the Etihad in a ‘show of solidarity’.
City were found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League rules by an independent panel, who proved they had used ‘sham’ sponsorship deals to boost their coffers to the tune of nearly £900m.
An appeal has been lodged as City plan to use their already refuted ‘irrefutable evidence’ to prove their innocence to a newly-appointed three-member board.
Premier League rules dictate that the appeal process should take no longer than 12 weeks, with a verdict set to be announced within 30 days.
READ: Ten Manchester City grounds for appeal and why they won’t wash
City are set to return to Premier League action on Sunday, against Liverpool at Anfield, and now The Telegraph has detailed the reaction from staff inside the club to the news.
“The thing that has shocked me more than anything is the language the commission used to describe the club’s conduct,” one staff member told The Telegraph.
“We had been waiting for a very long time to see what came out of these Premier League charges and lots of different things go through your head. But I just wasn’t expecting that. I’m still a bit shell-shocked by the ferocity of what the commission said. I think that’s what’s worried me.”
Another staff member said: “I’m not a worrier by nature but there’s no ignoring this. We’re all talking about it. It’s very hard not to listen to the things that are being said and written.”
Many of the staff members didn’t want to comment on the verdict while the process is still ongoing, while others insisted they still trust chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who’s worked hard to nurture a family feel at the football club.
But there was evident shock at the verdict. “I’ll be honest, I never expected anything like that,” one staff member said.
The report also revealed how well-placed sources described Soriano as “combative but embarrassed” when the news dropped while he was in attendance at the 33rd European Football Clubs’ General Assembly in Copenhagen last week.
There is some positive news for City though, as the Daily Mail report that Guardiola – after making way for Enzo Maresca in the summer – is set to return to the club for the clash with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Spaniard will be joined by Al Mubarak and other board members, with the report explaining that Guardiola was initially uncertain about returning so soon after the verdict, but decided to go in a ‘show of solidarity’ following one of the greatest sporting scandals in history.
Football365