Ferran Soriano blasts Premier League conspiracy in defiant leaked video to Manchester City staff

Leaked video and conspiracy claims

According to a report from Daily Mail Sport , Ferran Soriano has sent a defiant internal video message to Man City staff, vowing to clear the club's name after they were found guilty of 115 charges related to serious financial breaches. The chief executive insisted that the entire case stems from a fundamental misunderstanding.

Vowing to continue their legal fight, Soriano told staff: "The whole Premier League case against us is based on a single false accusation – that the owner’s personal money was somehow and secretly put into the club via some sponsors from Abu Dhabi. This is just not true. Irrefutable evidence has been provided to the Premier League commission that shows it could not happen and that it did not happen. This includes bank statements, money transfers, witnesses and everything necessary to categorically demonstrate the money did not come from the owner. Every other false charge that has been thrown at us comes from that simple, central and completely false accusation."

Sham contracts and vast financial breaches

Soriano's internal defence comes after an independent commission published devastating findings detailing how Manchester City systematically broke Premier League rules over a nine-season period. The governing body exposed a massive disguised funding scheme, whereby the club arranged "sham" commercial deals with sponsors to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs.

The commission concluded that the companies were only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees, while the remainder was secretly funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG). This altered the financial picture to the tune of over £900 million and breached spending limits set by both the League and UEFA.

Rejecting these conclusions entirely, Soriano added: "Surprisingly for us and our lawyers after nearly two years the Premier League’s commission has issued an opinion that supports the Premier League’s conspiracy theory. To do so, the opinion had to ignore the extensive evidence provided by the club in order to reach a conclusion that is clearly wrong."

Blanking the awkward questions

Despite Soriano's confident promises to employees, his demeanour was noticeably different during a tense public encounter on Tuesday. According to footage published by Sky News , the executive was confronted by a reporter at a public event and faced a barrage of difficult questions.

The journalist pressed him on the unprecedented ruling, asking: "The Premier League confirms you cheated for nearly a decade. Do you apologise to football fans?" Rather than defending the club, Soriano offered a blunt response, simply replying: "I have nothing to say, thank you." The reporter relentlessly followed him, asking if Man City were a "sham club" and questioning his responsibility to the supporters. "Do you not have a message for football fans? You know, when you've cheated for so long, do you not have an obligation?" the reporter pushed, but Soriano merely repeated "Thank you," and walked away from the cameras.

"Do you apologise to football fans? The Premier League says 'sham' contracts, is this a 'sham' club?"@RobHarris questions Man City chief executive Ferran Soriano after the club was found guilty of all charges related to Premier League's financial ruleshttps://t.co/3A2kYsOcCZ pic.twitter.com/LstPJGEPd7 — Sky News (@SkyNews) September 29, 2026

Relentless legal avenues await

As the legal battle intensifies, Man City have until Friday to officially appeal the guilty verdict. If the ruling is upheld, the club face potential sanctions ranging from heavy fines to massive points deductions or even automatic relegation. In his final rallying cry to staff, Soriano made it clear that the club will not go down without a fierce fight. "Our lawyers will now file an appeal that sets out the opinion contains clear, material errors of law, principle and fact and that it is unsafe," he stated. "We will focus on the independent appeal process and also all other legal avenues available to us in order to win the case and we will take all necessary action to protect the club and seek compensation from any party that tries to damage it."