Jose Mourinho has reacted to ongoing case against Manchester City by the Premier League over financial irregularities.
An independent commission have found City guilty on 114 of 115 financial charges. The Premier League allegations, spanning from the 2009-10 to 2017-18 seasons, center on artificially inflated sponsorship revenue and failing to provide accurate financial records.
While City firmly maintain their innocence and have officially launched an appeal, the club still face the threat of severe penalties.
Mourinho has now joined the list of football elites to share their opinion on the case.
Jose Mourinho during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid (Photo by Maria Gracia Jimenez/Soccrates/Getty Images)
The Real Madrid manager took a characteristic swipe at the pace of City’s legal proceedings, suggesting he might not be around to see the final verdict.
’I prefer to laugh a little, because I think we will have an end. But we two, who are in our sixties, have to have the luck to still be here when the final sentence arrives, because now a sentence will arrive and then an appeal…’ Mourinho told Corriere dello Sport. His comments highlight a growing frustration within the game regarding the time it takes to process major disciplinary cases involving elite clubs.
During the interview, Mourinho also revisited the Negreira case – which stems from Barcelona paying over €7.3m between 2001 and 2018 to former refereeing vice-president Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
While Barca maintain the payments were for legitimate technical reports, Real Madrid joined the legal action as an injured party, further deepening the institutional crisis in Spanish football.
Jose Mourinho during a training session on September 30, 2026 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Helios de la Rubia/Real Madrid via Getty Images)
’I arrived and lived here, at Real Madrid, the important times of Negreira. Nobody knew it, but we lived it,’ Mourinho stated.
He further expanded on his history with controversial refereeing structures, noting similar patterns elsewhere. ‘I then left and now it is known. But in Turkey the big scandal… afterwards this type of situation happened to me often,’ he added, referencing how the head of Turkish officiating was eventually imprisoned.
Mourinho also discussed the unusual circumstances surrounding his return to the Spanish capital this summer.
’Normally first there is the contact and then the rumor starts. Here it was exactly the opposite: the rumors started when there were zero contacts,’ he explained.
Mourinho revealed he was settled at Benfica when the speculation intensified, eventually leading to his emotional return to a club he spent three years with previously.
The Portuguese noted that he maintained a strong relationship with president Florentino Perez even during his decade away from the club.
