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Al Mubarak defends Manchester City's spending amid criticism

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak hit out at the "jealousy" of detractors and insisted "facts" will clear the club of alleged FFP breaches.

By Opta
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak

Manchester, May 27: Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak hit out at the "jealousy" of detractors and insisted "facts" will clear the club of alleged Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches.

The UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) referred City to its adjudicatory chamber earlier this month following a formal investigation into allegations made by German publication Der Spiegel.

City branded the claims of financial irregularities as "entirely false" and welcomed UEFA's investigation but now face the potential for a season-long Champions League ban if found guilty of FFP wrongdoing.

Manager Pep Guardiola reaffirmed his "trust" in the club's hierarchy prior to a triumphant appearance in the FA Cup final and Al Mubarak is adamant no sanctions will be brought against the domestic treble winners.

"Am I uncomfortable? No," Al Mubarak said in an interview with City TV.

"I think I respect regulatory bodies doing their job, and any regulatory process that asks questions we have to professionally respond to, which I think we've done.

"We are dealing with each one of these entities as per the process. We have clear answers. I believe quite comfortably if the process is going to be judged on facts then unquestionably we will prevail.

"If it's not about facts and it's about other things then it's a different conversation, but I certainly hope these regulatory bodies will ultimately make decisions based on facts."

He added: "In sports in general, with success there is a certain level of jealousy, envy, whatever you call it – that's part of the game.

"The reality is we didn't buy the most expensive player in the Premier League, we didn't buy the most expensive goalkeeper, we didn't buy the most expensive defender, we didn't buy the most expensive midfielder, we didn't buy the most expensive striker."

Al Mubarak's defence of City's spending formed part of an impassioned rebuttal to recent criticism from La Liga president Javier Tebas, who accused City and Paris Saint-Germain of turning football into the "plaything of a state" – in reference to the funding behind both clubs – and of "ruining the entire system" in Europe.

"He talks about how we distorted the market? There is a hypocrisy in this statement that is ironic," Al Mubarak said.

"Let's go back to the world records, [Luis] Figo, [Zinedine] Zidane, these huge jumps in these transfers, where did they happen?

"You have to look back at the history of LaLiga, a league dominated by two clubs, and Mr Tebas should look back at the history of that league and how distortion has happened throughout the ages."

Story first published: Monday, May 27, 2019, 9:56 [IST]
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