The Sun: Manchester City Financial Case Raises Questions Over Cost of Mancini’s Departure

According to The Sun, emails linked to Manchester City’s financial breach case have shed light on the cost of Roberto Mancini’s departure and arrangements surrounding sponsorship payments.

Ben Watson’s FA Cup final winner for Wigan Athletic in 2013 remains a painful memory for Manchester City fans.

Losing to a local rival who were heading towards relegation was already a shocking result, but the defeat also brought Roberto Mancini’s reign as manager to an end.

Thirteen years later, one of the most disappointing days of the Abu Dhabi era could once again come back to haunt Manchester City.

City have been found guilty by the Premier League of the vast majority of the financial rule breaches brought against them. It is understood that a significant amount of the Premier League’s evidence centres on emails obtained by German magazine Der Spiegel in 2018.

One of the key allegations relates to that Wembley final and the chain of events that followed.

Mancini was reportedly furious after learning on the morning of the FA Cup final that Manuel Pellegrini was expected to replace him. Within days of the defeat, his biggest fear became reality, with the Chilean subsequently taking over at the club.

However, the cost of dismissing the current Italy national team manager also created financial concerns. At the time, Manchester City chief financial officer Jorge Chumillas was reportedly preparing the club’s financial accounts for the 2012-13 season.

Chumillas was concerned that the estimated £9.9 million cost of dismissing Mancini would leave City with a significant shortfall when it came to meeting UEFA’s Financial Fair Play requirements.

According to Der Spiegel, City chief executive Ferran Soriano suggested that the problem could be resolved if the club received bonus payments from sponsors for winning the FA Cup.

However, Wigan Athletic’s victory at Wembley meant that City would not receive those bonuses.

A compromise was subsequently reached, reportedly involving several sponsors, including Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, adjusting the timing of their payments to help cover the shortfall.

Der Spiegel reported that Chumillas asked whether the dates of sponsorship payments could be changed. Simon Pearce, a long-standing board member and adviser to chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, reportedly replied: “Of course — we can do whatever we want.”

The email exchange was among the evidence UEFA relied upon when it found Manchester City to have committed serious breaches of Financial Fair Play regulations in 2020. UEFA subsequently imposed a two-year ban from European competition on the club.

Manchester City appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and successfully overturned the ban.

The club is also expected to challenge the Premier League’s verdict, while Al Mubarak’s statement on Saturday suggested that Manchester City remain confident of overturning the outcome.