The chairman of Manchester City, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, has expressed his annoyance that the club’s success on the field is being overshadowed by the financial fair play claims, and he has vowed to express his “blunt views” whenever he has the chance.
The club coached by Pep Guardiola achieved a historic triple by winning the Champions League, the Premier League, and the FA Cup in the previous season. They were just the second English team to accomplish this feat.
In February, City was charged with 115 suspected violations of the financial fair play standards of the Premier League going back to 2009. In addition, the club was accused of not complying with an inquiry into the matter.
A month ago, Guardiola expressed his desire for the situation to be resolved as quickly as possible, stating that he does not want a cloud to hover over the accomplishments of his team.
Speaking to the club’s internal media, Khaldoon said that, for legal reasons, he was unable to comment in detail on the allegations but that he was looking forward to having a “conversation” after the process was through.
“I’ll give you my very blunt views, you have my word on that,” he promised me. “I have very strong opinions about it, but regrettably I am going to be extremely reserved today.
“It’s very frustrating because it detracts so much from the great work that’s happening at this club, and it’s not just happening on the football pitch,” said the manager. “It’s not just about the football.” The football field; it is astonishing what these guys have accomplished this year, bringing home the treble.
Khaldoon referred to Manchester City as a “very well run” club, noting that they had won five of the last six Premier League championships.
“The value of this group has increased to more than $6 billion today,” stated. “We’ve brought in investors of world-class caliber, and as a result, we’ve created a significant amount of value.” Why? Because we have access to a commercial machine that is considered to be among the very finest in the whole globe.
According to Khaldoon, Manchester City are the best football brand in the world.
“We can go on for another half an hour right now with me just giving you data in terms of net spend over the last season, net spend over the last three years, net spend over the last five years, and net spend over the last 10 years,” he added.
“Look at each and every one of them, and simply look at them as the facts, and compare us to our rivals. Then people will hurl at us, ‘you’re the largest spenders,’ and ‘you have the biggest squad,’ so look at all of them.
“I wish that people could just take a moment to pause, ask the question, and get the facts before offering their opinion.”