Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has made light of how long Manchester City’s financial saga is dragging on, joking that men of his generation will be lucky simply to be around when it finally reaches a conclusion.
Vitor Reis and other youngster in the Man City dressing room will be closely monitoring the club's appeal proceedings.More Videos
If there is one man who has rarely needed an invitation to share an opinion, it is Mourinho. English football’s biggest and longest-running controversy was never likely to slip past him.
The subject of Manchester City’s financial case has been commented on from almost every corner of the game, and now one of its most familiar voices has weighed in.
His career-long rival Pep Guardiola may not be managing in Manchester anymore, but Mourinho - who has taken charge of three major Premier League rivals and is now back at Real Madrid - has battled with City dozens of times over the years.
When prompted in an interview, the veteran coach turned to City’s protracted legal battle and chose, characteristically, to find the funny side of it.
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca faced the press for the first time on Friday morning since the club were found guilty by an independent commission of breaching the Premier League's financial rules.cityxtra.co.ukEvery Word Enzo Maresca Said on Man City's Guilty Verdict Ahead of Liverpool Trip
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca faced the press for the first time on Friday morning since the club were found guilty by an independent commission of breaching the Premier League's financial rules.
I prefer to laugh a little, says Mourinho on tempo of progress in Man City case
Reflecting on the process is crawling towards a resolution, Mourinho suggested that he and others in their 60s might be fortunate to even witness the final word, given the appeal that still lies ahead.
Discussing Manchester City's ongoing legal battle with the Premier League in conversation with Corriere dello Sport, Mourinho said: “I prefer to laugh a little because I think we will have an end," as relayed by Goal.
"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."
A barbed comment parceled in a smile is Mourinho’s modus operandi, but his words had something more serious hidden in them. Few expect Manchester City’s case to be settled quickly given how long it has taken to get to this point, and there is a wider sense that this is still a dispute with the capacity to run and run.
No quick end in sight?
An independent commission found Manchester City guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules across a nine-season period, a verdict the club strenuously deny and are now appealing. A separate sanctions hearing is still to come, leaving the timeline for any true conclusion decidedly open-ended.
The appeal now represents City's next battleground, with the club adamant the original verdict contains “clear material errors” of law, principle and fact.
Whatever Mourinho’s intent, his words capture the gist of the limbo City are stuck in. The verdict is in, but the fight is far from over. First, though, comes the small matter of a trip to Anfield on Sunday.
While the ex-Chelsea boss almost certainly will live to see the end of the legal battle, despite his jokes, Enzo Maresca may have to guide his team through dozens of matches in the meantime.