Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho joked that the legal case against Manchester City could outlast his own lifetime. City faces charges for financial rule violations between 2009 and 2018. Mourinho said, "We'll need to be lucky enough to still be around when the final verdict arrives" amid ongoing club appeals.
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has taken a light-hearted swipe at the prolonged legal dispute between Manchester City and the Premier League, joking that the case could drag on longer than his lifetime. City have challenged a ruling that held the club responsible for multiple breaches of the league's financial regulations.
An independent commission found City guilty of all charges concerning financial rule violations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. The club was also found to have breached three of the four charges related to its alleged failure to cooperate with the investigation. City have denied any wrongdoing and appealed the decision.
The Premier League alleged that City relied on so-called "sham" commercial arrangements to overstate their income and underreport expenses by more than £900 million ($1.19 billion) over a period of almost 10 years. These practices, according to the league, resulted in inaccurate financial disclosures and violations of its spending regulations.
Mourinho's comments carry added context given his time in English football. He was in charge of Manchester United from 2016 to 2018, a period that included the 2017-18 Premier League campaign, when his side finished second behind Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.
Speaking about the matter, Mourinho said that he would be lucky to be around till the final verdict does come in as City have already made an appeal about the decision and more may follow.
"I would rather laugh about it," Mourinho said, when asked about the case in an interview with Italy's Corriere dello Sport.
"I think we will eventually get an ending, but we are both in our 60s and we'll need to be lucky enough to still be around when the final verdict arrives.
"There will be a verdict, then appeals, then more appeals."
City currently sit at the top of the standings with a 100 percent record so far after five matches. They will face Liverpool on Sunday, October 11, at Anfield.