Former Man City financial advisor claims Premier League 'desperate' to release verdict on 115 charges to avoid 'complete disaster' scenario

During their golden era, which saw Manchester City win the Premier League four times in a row under Pep Guardiola, the club were charged with 115 separate offences over potential financial breaches. Since the revalation in 2023, a long court battle has ensued, with a private hearing being held at the end of 2024. The entire football world still awaits the outcome of the case, and now former City financial advisor Stefan Borson claims we could be on the verge of seeing the outcome.

Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: "I think City must be quite close... I think there's been a lot of misinformation about that situation.

"If you have a 12-week trial, it takes a long time for the decision to come out. In the outside world, it could easily take 12 or 18 months in a High Court equivalent.

"This week felt possible. I thought that if it didn't happen in the international window that we had in April, that the parties would find a way to hold it over until the end of the season so that it didn't distract.

"We're now in a zone where, commercially, if there's any influence at all from the parties - the Premier League or the club - they would want to get that decision out during the close season.

"What's the alternative? That it comes out in that three-week period after the Club World Cup, but before the start of the season. And that's sub-optimal.

"We're getting very close to a situation where, if it doesn't come out in the next couple weeks and doesn't come out during the Club World Cup, you're getting very close to the start of the season. Nobody's going to want that. That is a complete disaster."

Borson advised City between 2002 and 2007, meaning he was not part of the club during the alleged nine-year period in which they committed the 115 financial breaches. Despite the eye of the law firmly fixed upon them, Guardiola is still continuing to spend heavily on his squad, investing nearly £350million in the last six months and already bringing in Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Tijjani Reijnders this summer.

City are set to compete in the Club World Cup this summer, with their new stars on show as they look to make up for a poor 2024-25 campaign. Although, if Borson's words are true, we could be hit with a bombshell verdict on their case during the tournament.