Amid the hundreds of thousands of words written and spoken about Manchester City being found guilty of serious breaches of Premier League rules, maybe Roberto Mancini’s were the most poignant when he announced it was “not my concern”. Why would it be? He made millions from one of the “sham contracts” and enjoyed his success but his ties to the club started and ended there. Since he has gone there will have been little looking at what was left behind.
The Italian is a microcosm of the modern club, appointed for his expertise and well remunerated for it. Mancini was deemed the best person City could hire and the club, powered by an attitude of win at all costs, accommodated him at great expense in a manner that a damning independent commission verdict concluded circumnavigated the rules.
