Man City claim they only level the field amid cartel panic
Manchester City’s owner Sheikh Mansour and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak insist the club is merely trying to level the playing field, not breaking any rules. They describe the accusations of a “cartel” as a blind panic by the traditional elite. The statement stresses that no doping, extra players or bribery has occurred.
Origins of the financial dispute
City was taken over in 2008, a year before Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich pushed Financial Fair Play (FFP) through in 2009. The owners say they have always spent only their own money, which would have been perfectly legal before the elite raised the drawbridge. They argue the new regulations were designed to protect the status of those clubs.
According to the club, spending has been roughly equal to Manchester United and Chelsea, and slightly higher than Liverpool and Arsenal, all funded from its own resources. The claim is that the club simply tried to level up the field, not to cheat or bribe officials.
Club’s defence and future stance
In a letter to supporters, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak wrote: “The Premier League process still has a long way to go, and our confidence and determination to prove the club’s innocence are as strong as when this all began.” Ferran Soriano later confirmed the club’s resolve to fight the charges.
City also took the Premier League’s new PSR (Profit and Sustainability Regulations) and used it to demonstrate why those rules exist, according to the club’s statements. The owners maintain that the only crime is the elite’s attempt to rewrite the rules to protect themselves.
Barney Ronay has argued that the scale of any punishment is the only story, while the Premier League bears responsibility for the regulatory environment. The club describes the past three days of scrutiny as a drum‑roll before a “big reveal” that will clear its name.
Some rival fans have called for extreme actions against the Etihad, but City’s supporters counter that trophies and memories will endure regardless of the criticism. The debate now centres on whether abolishing FFP would truly create a level playing field, given the state‑backed wealth of clubs like City and Newcastle United.