The Spanish executive has confirmed that the team will be taking an appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano has spoken out to defend the club’s financial activity in the aftermath of the two-season European ban.
The reigning Premier League winners were hit with a suspension from the continental contest in addition to a $30 million (#32m/$25m) fine by UEFA last week for breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations between 2012 and 2016.
After an in-depth evaluation, the Adjudicatory Chamber of UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) found City guilty of”overstating its sponsorship revenue” during the designated period.
The team responded to the sanctions by promising to appeal the final decision” in the first opportunity.”
And Soriano has issued an official statement denying the allegations from City, insisting all the money put into the club has ever been”correctly declared”.
He advised City TV: “The main thing I must say now is that the allegations aren’t correct. They are simply not correct.
“The owner hasn’t put money in this club which hasn’t been properly declared. We’re a sustainable football team, we’re profitable, we do not have debt, our balances are scrutinized many times, by auditors, by regulators, by investors and this is perfectly obvious.
“We delivered a long list of documents and support which we think is incontrovertible evidence that the claims aren’t accurate and it was hard because we did so in the context of information being leaked to the media in the context of feeling that each step along the way, every engagement we had, we felt that we had been considered guilty before anything was even discussed.
“But in the long run, this is an internal procedure that’s been initiated and then prosecuted and then judged by this FFP room at UEFA.”
Soriano went onto talk about the appeal process, insisting it will be”business as usual” for City until their case is heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
He explained: “We are searching for an early settlement obviously through a comprehensive process and a fair procedure so my very best hope is that this will be completed before the start of the summer and till then for us, it’s business as usual.”
Pep Guardiola’s standing at City has been under intense scrutiny during the 2019-20 effort, and it’s been suggested he could walk away from the club when their European ban is maintained.
Soriano is determined that the 49-year-old remains fully focused on his duties in the Etihad Stadium despite ongoing speculation, as he added: “Clearly, he’s been kept informed about this procedure but this isn’t something for him to react to.
“He’s focused on the football, he’s focusing on the match, the match available, the game now, tomorrow and the upcoming weeks.
“As well as the players. They are calm, they’re concentrated and this thing is more a business thing, a legal matter than a soccer manner.”
Soriano concluded by providing a message to City fans, promising to do”everything which can be done in order to prove” the club’s innocence in the coming months.
“The fans can be certain of two things. The first one is that the allegations are untrue,” he said. “And the second is that we can do everything which could be done to prove so. We all know the fans are supporting us.
“We can feel it. Manchester City fans have gone through challenges over the years. This is just one more challenge. We’ll stick together, we’ll go through it and we won’t allow the fans down.”
