Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Manchester City, Premier League, Pep Guardiola, David Ornstein
Ryan Smart
Topics: Manchester City, Premier League, Pep Guardiola, David Ornstein
A financial advisor has dropped a significant update on Manchester City's 115 charges case.
The Premier League charged City with 115 alleged breaches of financial rules in February 2023, with 54 of those relating to a failure to provide up-to-date financial information.
City have denied any wrongdoing and they have a 'body of irrefutable evidence' that has been provided as part of their defence.
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A private hearing into the charges being held between September and December last year.
In February, manager Pep Guardiola stated that the club expected a verdict to be announced in the next month, though no announcement has yet been made.
Once a verdict is reached, it can be appealed by either party, meaning an official outcome will not be decided upon for some time yet.
The Athletic's David Ornstein told NBC that the club are 'totally confident they will be exonerated and prove their innocence'.
Should City be found guilty of any charges, potential punishments include fines, points deductions or even, in the most severe scenario, relegation from the Premier League.
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Now, former City financial advisor Stefan Borson - who has provided regular comment on the case since it was first announced - has given a new update based on information that he 'has heard'.
Speaking to Football Insider, Borson claims a verdict is still 'not close', and that 'nobody knows' when an announcement will arrive.
He also criticised the hearing process, alleging that it 'has not been handled well' in certain respects.
He explained: "What you've got is a situation where it might happen at any point. Something that's very significant, not just to the future of football, but to the future of Manchester City employees.
"Because you would think that, if a lot of this stuff goes against City, then there would have to be some adjustments to City's cost base which, as we know from what's happened at United, can involve real people and real jobs.
"I don't think it's been handled well in that respect.
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"I can tell you from lots of conversations I've had over the last week, nobody knows.
"This is a very well-kept secret, and nobody has got any indication of definitively when it's coming. Nobody believes that it's close because of things they've heard.
"It will just drop. It doesn't feel like the best way of doing things from the Premier League and City's perspective, but that's the process we have."
Here is a full breakdown of the charges laid against City by the Premier League, with a small minority of the charges also involving UEFA.
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The Times reported in December that the actual number of charges is 130, due to a reporting error from the Premier League at the time of the initial announcement. The Premier League have not commented on the matter.