Ed Woodward was in the lift and making his way down to the directors' box in Juventus's Allianz Stadium when he bumped into some journalists. "Been an interesting few days," he quipped, his mouth curling into a satisfied smirk.
Woodward did not have to specify what he was referring to. Der Spiegel had published the report, 'Manchester City exposed, Chapter 1: Bending the Rules to the Tune of Millions' three days earlier and Woodward's night was about to get better. United scored twice in the last 10 minutes to secure a stirring comeback victory in Turin.
Uefa showed teeth with City, banning them from the Champions League for two years and fining them €30million in February 2020, but their case was not watertight. City won their appeal five months later and the fine was reduced to €10m.
