Mourinho jokes Manchester City legal case may outlast him and Maresca

Jose Mourinho has joked that he and Manchester City coach Enzo Maresca may not live to see the conclusion of the club’s legal dispute with the Premier League.

The Real Madrid manager was speaking to Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport when he was asked about the case, which has been ongoing for several years and could still face a lengthy appeals process.

“I would rather laugh about it,” Mourinho said.

“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.”

The case involves allegations that Manchester City breached Premier League financial regulations during the period between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

An independent commission ruled that the club was guilty of all the charges relating to the alleged financial breaches. It also found City guilty of three of the four charges relating to the club’s alleged failure to co-operate with the investigation.

Manchester City have denied any wrongdoing and have appealed against the findings.

The Premier League alleged that the club had used commercial agreements it described as “sham” arrangements. According to the league, those arrangements enabled City to inflate their revenue and understate their costs by more than 900 million pounds over almost a decade.

The allegations included inaccurate financial reporting and breaches of spending regulations.

The appeal proceedings are taking place in private, meaning there is no confirmed timetable for a final decision. The possible sanctions, if any, also remain unknown.

Mourinho was Manchester United manager from 2016 to 2018 and guided the club to a second-place finish behind Manchester City in the 2017-18 Premier League season.

City are now managed by Enzo Maresca, who succeeded Pep Guardiola after the Spaniard left during the European summer.

Maresca’s team have begun the season strongly, winning their first five league matches to move to the top of the table.

Manchester City will aim to make it six successive victories when they travel to Liverpool on Sunday. Maresca has said his players must concentrate on matters on the pitch despite the uncertainty created by the legal case surrounding the club.