Mourinho jokes that Manchester City’s case with Premier League will outlast him

Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho said he would rather “laugh about it” when asked about Manchester City being found guilty by the Premier League. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho jokingly said that he might not be around to witness the end of Manchester City’s legal battle with the Premier League after the club was found guilty of serious financial rule breaches.

Last month, City was found guilty by an independent commission of all charges relating to breaches of ‌Premier League financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons as well as ‌three of four charges relating to ‌failures ⁠to cooperate with the investigation.

The league said that City used “sham” commercial contracts to inflate revenue and understate ​costs by more ‌than 900 million pounds (USD 1.19 billion) over nearly a decade.

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When asked about the issue during an interview with Corriere ‌dello Sport, Mourinho said, “I would rather ⁠laugh about it.”

Mourinho managed Manchester United ‌from 2016-18, with the club finishing ​second in the Premier League in the 2017-18 season, behind Pep Guardiola-led City.

“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,” he added.