Ex-Man City coach breaks silence after guilty verdict

Italy manager Roberto Mancini has distanced himself from Manchester City’s reported guilty verdict, declaring that the club's financial irregularities and his own controversial dual-contract arrangement are not his personal responsibility.

Mancini, who managed Manchester City from 2009 to 2013, addressed the media ahead of Italy’s UEFA Nations League fixture against Turkey.

When questioned about his central role in the Premier League's investigation, the 61-year-old dismissed the investigation, which saw the English champions found guilty of 114 of 115 financial charges.

“I don’t think Manchester City were found guilty; quite the opposite,” Mancini stated. “It’s not a problem that concerns me, and it isn’t anything new. Manchester City are not guilty, and on the double contract it isn’t my problem, theirs if anything.”

The "double contract" Mancini referenced represents one of the most significant pillars of the Premier League's prosecution.

During his four-year tenure at the Etihad Stadium, which yielded the 2010/11 FA Cup, the 2011/12 Premier League, and the 2012 FA Community Shield, the club allegedly established a secondary income stream to artificially suppress his official wages and circumvent UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations.

According to the prosecution, Mancini’s official Manchester City contract provided a base net salary of €1.69 million. However, the manager simultaneously signed a consultancy agreement with Al Jazira, an Abu Dhabi-based club also controlled by Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour.

This secondary agreement reportedly paid Mancini an additional €2.03 million (£1.7 million) annually. Formally, the shadow contract required the manager to provide just four days of consultancy services per year.

Investigators proved that these funds passed through several related corporate entities before reaching the Italian tactician, a scheme the independent panel deemed a deliberate circumvention of financial regulations.

Mancini's refusal to accept any personal culpability arrives as Manchester City await the confirmation of their punishment.

During the lengthy investigation, the club continually refused to testify or provide requested documentation regarding the offshore payments, maintaining complete innocence.

With 114 charges now proven, the club is subject to severe Rule W.15 sanctions, exposing them to unlimited financial fines, catastrophic points deductions, or permanent expulsion from the English top flight.