Man City 115 charges verdict is 'imminent': Club's former financial advisor reveals when he expects decision to go public

Former Manchester City financial advisor Stefan Borson has said he expects a verdict on the club’s 115 Premier League charges by Christmas. 

City, who were charged by the Premier League in early 2023 for allegedly breaching financial rules during a nine-year period spanning from 2009 to 2018, are still waiting for an outcome along with the rest of English football.

Despite the historic hearing beginning well over a year ago, no public decision has yet been made by the independent commission tasked with reaching a verdict. 

City, who have strenuously denied wrongdoing in relation to the charges, were also accused of failing to comply with the Premier League's rules on profit and sustainability (PSR), not cooperating with the governing body in their four-year investigation and breaching UEFA's financial fair play regulations.

According to Borson, who has previously voiced that City could face relegation if found guilty of the charges, an outcome could be decided and made public by Christmas this year.

He made the admission while featuring on talkSPORT radio with Jim White and Simon Jordan.

'I think Simon thinks it's going to come out next year, I think it still could come out before Christmas,' Borson said.

'The decision has been imminent for quite some time, there's not a lot that they can do. It doesn't take that long.'

Earlier in their conversation, he told Jordan and White that the independent commission - rather than City or the Premier League - are responsible for the lengthy delay, with the start of the hearing occurring over 14 months ago.

'Well, look, nobody knows because even the parties themselves expected to have been told by now. All the lawyers are surprised there is no decision at this stage, and that's on both sides,' he said.

'I'll tell you who's holding it up - the panel making the decision. They hold the pen. They are the people who everybody waits for to deliver the decision.

'Well, nobody knows. We know the long list - you can cobble it together from all of the people on the judicial panel - but we don't know who is on that list. We can make some guesses that it's probably two lawyers and maybe one accountant. But we don't know who is on the panel and what they were told to produce by when.

'We can now assume I think, given how long it has been and that everybody is so surprised that they don't have a decision, that actually there's very little guidance given to them and they weren't effectively paid for their time from the moment the case ended. 

'Arguably the Premier and Manchester City together, with the panel, should have agreed a process whereby the hearing ends and then effectively they are exclusively paid to deliberate and produce, over let's say three months or at worst six months, the decision during the closed season.'