Man City chairman insists Premier League charges should not harm treble legacy
By Tom Gott
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has admitted he feels frustrated that the team's famous treble victory is being downplayed because of Premier League charges against them.
City have been hit with 115 charges from the Premier League over alleged financial rule breaches dating between 2009 and 2018, which has seen some critics question the legitimacy of City's treble achieved during the 2022/23 campaign.
A legal challenge has been launched by City, who have long argued their innocence and vowed to set the record straight.
“I can’t talk about them unfortunately for legal reasons," Al Mubarak of the case said in his annual review. "And what I would typically always do is comment after, so I think we’re going to go through the legal process. These are proceedings that take whatever time they take and when we’re done we’ll have a conversation. I’ll give you my very blunt views, I promise you that. I have very strong views on that."
As for matters on the pitch, Al Mubarak argued that the achievements of Pep Guardiola's side should have nothing to do with the charges against City.
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"It’s very frustrating because it takes so much from the great work that’s happening at this club and it’s happening not just on the football pitch,” he continued.
"What these players have achieved this year, the treble, is incredible. I hope people focus and judge them for their football and what they’re achieving on the pitch and what they’re achieving in every competition they’re in. That’s the reality.
"The club as a whole is well run, is very well run. Today, the value of this group is over $6bn. We’ve created so much value – we’ve brought in world-class investors. Why? Because we have a commercial machine here that is one of the best in the world. Our executives are being targeted by the best teams in the world – always."
Al Mubarak concluded: "The club generates a tremendous revenue. You look at our sales in terms of what we produce, in terms of from our academy, from our first team…We can go on for 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, over the last five years, over the last 10 years.
"Look at every single one of them and just look at these as the facts and compare us to our competition and then people will throw at us, 'the biggest spenders' or 'you have the biggest squad'. I wish people can just pause and ask the question and get the facts and then comment."
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