ONE TOUCH SUMMARY
- Mancini brushed off reports Manchester City were found guilty of financial breaches during his time as manager.
- Manchester City declined to deny the reported guilty verdicts, saying the legal process remains ongoing.
- City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak insisted nothing has changed and the club's confidence remains strong.
ONE TOUCH INSIGHT
Roberto Mancini's "not my concern" is not indifference — it is the only line a manager can hold while the process grinds on. The remuneration clause in the charge sheet covers 2009 to 2013, the years he delivered City's first title in 44 years. That is a historical file, not a selection problem for the Italy squad he names in Bursa.
Keep the legal state straight. ESPN reports, via a source, that City are expected to be found guilty on the vast majority of 115 charges. City say the process remains ongoing, and Khaldoon Al Mubarak insists the club's confidence in proving innocence is unchanged. A charge is not a conviction, and a reported verdict is not a confirmed one.
The sporting question is narrow: does this follow Mancini into Italy's camp, or stay with City's lawyers and the Premier League's refusal to comment?
Monday's Nations League fixture in Bursa is the check. Judge it by the press conference before kick-off — if the questions drift back to Abu Dhabi and his old contract rather than the XI he picks, Italy's autumn has a second front.
WHY IT MATTERS
The reported verdict reaches back to the era in which Mancini delivered City's first title in 44 years, and the alleged breaches specifically cite manager remuneration between 2009 and 2013. A former manager who built that success now says the case is not his concern.
TACTICAL FIT
There is no tactical impact here — Mancini is Italy coach, preparing for a Nations League fixture, and the story is about governance rather than shape or selection. The strategic takeaway is that the case keeps re-entering the room around figures who worked at City.
play
Marcotti: Man City's charges will damage the Premier League (2:23)
- ESPN News Services
Multiple Authors
Sep 27, 2026, 07:04 PM ET
Share
Open Extended Reactions
Roberto Mancini brushed off reports that his former club Manchester City have been found guilty by the Premier League of financial breaches allegedly committed during his time as manager.
A source confirmed to ESPN on Friday that City were expected to be found guilty on the vast majority of 115 charges of financial breaches in their legal case with the Premier League.
- Man City verdict will leave a stain and stench on a Premier League era - Man City vs. Premier League: 115 financial charges explained - Returning Mancini accepts fans' jeers as Italy beaten by Belgium
Among the alleged breaches cited by the Premier League in 2023 were that City had failed to provide "full details of manager remuneration in its relevant contracts with its manager" between 2009 and 2013, the period in which Mancini was in charge and delivered City's first title in 44 years.
According to German publication Der Spiegel, Mancini is said to have at one point earned £1.45 million in a basic salary and £1.75 million as a consultant for a team controlled by City owner Sheikh Mansour in Abu Dhabi.
Italy coach Roberto Mancini speaks at a news conference in Türkiye on Sunday.Mustafa Yilmaz/Anadolu via Getty Images
But speaking at a news conference in Türkiye on Sunday, the now-Italy coach questioned the reported verdict and said it was a matter for the club, not him.
"It's not an issue that concerns me," he said in Bursa ahead of Monday's UEFA Nations League fixture. "It's nothing new because this matter has been discussed for the last four or five years.
"Manchester City has not been found guilty, and the alleged double contract is not my concern. It's their issue, not mine."
In a statement on Friday, City didn't deny the guilty verdicts and said that the process "remains ongoing."
When contacted by ESPN, the Premier League said it wouldn't comment on a "private and confidential process."
In his own statement on Saturday, Man City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said "nothing has changed" regarding the case, adding "our confidence and intent in proving the club's innocence is just as strong as when this began."
As well as the 2011-12 Premier League title, Mancini also led Man City to victory in the 2011 FA Cup final during his four seasons at the helm.
He returned to take charge of Italy for a second time this summer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
AI-assisted · generated from ESPN FC reporting, not editor reviewed
