Khaldoon Al Mubarak has made the timing clear on Manchester City's 115 charges. A 12-week behind-closed-doors hearing ran between September and December 2024, and the independent commission ruling is still pending almost 18 months after it ended. The Premier League charges were brought in 2023 over a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018.

Why Al Mubarak is holding back

Speaking to Sky Sports, Al Mubarak said: “Let me be as consistent as I've always been - until we have a ruling, I can't say much. Once we have a ruling, believe me, we're going to have a wonderful sit-down together and I'll say everything I've wanted to say for the last three years.”

That is the clearest line from the interview. City are not engaging fully while the case is still unresolved, but Al Mubarak is also promising a proper response when it is over. Given how long this has dragged on, that is hardly surprising. The 115-charge case has been hanging over the club since 2023, and the hearing alone lasted 12 weeks.

Why the ownership point matters too

Al Mubarak also shut down the latest takeover noise. “There's no intention to sell,” he told Sky Sports, adding that Sheikh Mansour has no intention of selling this business and calling City and the wider group “a beautiful business to own.”

He also pointed to the value of City Football Group, saying it would not sell for less than $10bn today. That matters because it shows how the owners are framing the club, not as an asset to cash in on, but as something they expect to keep building. The group includes 11 clubs, which is part of why the ownership message is as much about scale as it is about control.

The only real argument left is whether the unresolved case becomes the dominant story again once the ruling lands. For now, Al Mubarak has drawn the line where City want it drawn: no full response until the commission speaks, no sale talk, and no sign the owners are going anywhere.

Compiled by the ClutchBrief Desk with AI assistance, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →