"It took eight years to get here and it will take much longer," Ferran Soriano told A Bola, in comments translated from Portuguese, at a European Football Clubs board meeting in Copenhagen. That is the clearest public message yet from inside Manchester City: whatever has been reported about the charges, the club do not believe this story is close to ending.

A Bola reported that City were found guilty of 114 of 115 charges, but that sanctions have still not been made public. That gap matters to the whole debate. The numbers being discussed are huge, but the process Soriano described is still moving, and City are still framing this as a legal fight rather than a settled outcome.

Soriano's message from Copenhagen

The setting matters here. Soriano was speaking to fellow club executives in Copenhagen, not reacting in the usual rush after a match or press conference. His line on the timescale was backed up by chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, also quoted in Portuguese by A Bola, who said: "The Premier League process still has a long way to go, and our confidence and intention to prove the club's innocence remain as strong as when this started,"

That leaves City holding the same public position they have held throughout. They are not accepting that the case is finished, and they are not talking like a club waiting quietly for punishment.

The scale of the allegations is still the reason this is hanging over the game. Reports have consistently centred on 115 charges, with multiple outlets also describing a reported finding that 114 were upheld. Even there, the language around the ruling is not perfectly settled across coverage. Some reports describe official confirmation as still awaited, while others present the independent panel's finding as already made.

Pochettino and the wider reaction

Soriano's attempt to slow the story down is not how many outside City are reading it. Speaking to BBC Sport, Mauricio Pochettino said football had "we have lived through a period of deception" if the findings stand. The former Tottenham and Chelsea manager also said: "Whatever punishment [they choose], it's impossible to turn back time,"

That is a serious accusation, and it captures why this has moved beyond a technical rules case. BBC Sport said the charges relate to a period from 2009-10 to 2017-18, with co-operation concerns running from December 2018 to February 2023. When the alleged breaches cover that much time, the reaction is always going to spill into arguments about competitive damage and what any punishment can still fix.

Others have already gone further. Jeremy Corbyn told standard.co.uk that any sanction should include "a significant points deduction that results in their inevitable relegation." Acun Ilicali, owner of Hull City, told the Daily Mail: "This is financial doping at the end of the day. Bringing top four or five players with huge money, breaking the rules. From that side, it doesn’t look very positive."

The legal and commercial pressure may not stop there either. The Independent reported that other top-flight clubs are seeking legal advice over possible compensation claims.

What remains unresolved

The reporting points in two directions at once. Outside City, the conversation has already shifted to sanctions, compensation and damage done to the sport. Inside City, the line is still that the club will keep fighting and expects that fight to run on.

The stronger reading, based on what has actually been said in public, is that this case is still deep in the process rather than at the end of it. Soriano's eight-year timeline and his warning that it will take much longer are now part of the story, and so is the fact that sanctions still have not been made public.

FAQ

Why are Manchester City charges still being talked about if there is no final punishment yet?

Because the process is still not settled. Ferran Soriano said in Copenhagen that it has already taken eight years and will take much longer, while Khaldoon Al Mubarak insisted the Premier League process still has a long way to go. Reports have described findings on most of the charges, but the sanctions have still not been made public.

What did Ferran Soriano say about the Manchester City case timeline?

Quoted in Portuguese by A Bola, Soriano said: "It took eight years to get here and it will take much longer," during a European Football Clubs board meeting in Copenhagen. His message was clear enough: City do not see this as a case close to being wrapped up.

What has Mauricio Pochettino said about the Manchester City charges?

Speaking to BBC Sport, Mauricio Pochettino said football had "lived through a period of deception" if the reported findings stand. He also said: "Whatever punishment [they choose], it's impossible to turn back time," framing the case as damage to the wider game rather than only a question of sanctions.

Have Manchester City already been punished for the Premier League charges?

No public sanction has been confirmed in the reporting used here. Several outlets have reported that almost all of the charges were upheld, but the sanctions have still not been made public, and City's leadership have continued to say the process is ongoing and that they intend to prove the club's innocence.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 8 outlets. How we work →