Khaldoon al-Mubarak has promised to voice strong views when the time is right on Manchester City’s Premier League charges for alleged financial wrongdoing and has insisted the allegations should not taint the winning of the treble.
In February City were accused of beaching the rules on more than 100 occasions. The club deny wrongdoing and the chairman was asked about the case in his annual review.
Mubarak said: “I can’t talk about them unfortunately for legal reasons. And what I would typically always do is comment after, so I think we’re going to go through the legal process. These are proceedings that take whatever time they take and when we’re done we’ll have a conversation. I’ll give you my very blunt views, I promise you that. I have very strong views on that.”
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City claimed only the second treble in English football history and Mubarak insisted the charges should not adversely colour the achievement of Pep Guardiola’s side.
“It’s very frustrating because it takes so much from the great work that’s happening at this club and it’s happening not just on the football pitch,” he said. “What these players have achieved this year, the treble, is incredible. I hope people focus and judge them for their football and what they’re achieving on the pitch and what they’re achieving in every competition they’re in. That’s the reality.
“The club as a whole is well run, is very well run. Today, the value of this group is over $6bn [£4.7bn]. We’ve created so much value – we’ve brought in world-class investors. Why? Because we have a commercial machine here that is one of the best in the world. Our executives are being targeted by the best teams in the world – always.”
Mubarak described City as “the No 1 football brand in the world”, saying: “The club generates a tremendous revenue. You look at our sales in terms of what we produce, in terms of from our academy, from our first team … We can go on for half an hour right now with me just giving you data in terms of net spend over the last season, net spend over the last three years, over the last five years, over the last 10 years.
“Look at every single one of them and just look at these as the facts and compare us to our competition and then people will throw at us, ‘the biggest spenders’ or: ‘You have the biggest squad.’ I wish people can just pause and ask the question and get the facts and then comment.”
Mubarak promised even greater success. “Look what we have this summer: we have the [Community] Shield, we have the Super Cup, we have the Club World Cup. For the first time, this club is going to be competing in the Super Cup and the Club World Cup. And we want to win these.”
Mubarak said that he, Guardiola, the chief executive, Ferran Soriano, and the director of football, Txiki Begiristain, had joked recently about what lies ahead. “We looked at each other and it was: ‘OK, now we’ve got to do it again.’”
Erling Haaland, who scored 53 goals in 52 appearances in his debut season, told Mubarak he would win the Champions League for City. Mubarak said: “What amazed me about Erling is the confidence. He’s got something special, confidence with respect. And to be having that conversation post signing your contract with your chairman and saying at the end of that conversation: ‘Mr chairman, I’m going to win the Champions League for you. I’m here to win the Champions League for Manchester City and we’re going to win it,’ a year ago is really a testament to the greatness of this player.
“And to show you where Erling is going, this is the beginning. And the scary part, this is just the beginning for him.”
