Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano has warned their fight against the Premier League will take ‘a lot more time’ to conclude.

Soriano was at a private meeting with the executive board of European Football Clubs’ body along with other bosses of top clubs and, according to sources, was quick to address the elephant in the room.

‘It’s taken eight years to get here,’ Soriano told the assembled club chiefs, ‘and it’s going to take a lot more time’.

Soriano is understood to have asked to address the room and said all the noise so far had come from a media leak and that there had not been any official communication.

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said in a statement on Saturday: ‘The process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began.’

City have been found guilty of all substantive charges brought by the Premier League regarding breaches of their financial rules, over a time period in which they lifted three titles as part of an eight-trophy haul.

The situation has raised the prospect that broadcasters who paid billions to screen that glittering era in the club’s history could seek effective refunds, given there would be clear question marks over the integrity of what they paid vast sums to screen. However, it is understood broadcasters will not demand compensation from the Premier League — even if they throw the book at Manchester City.

Daily Mail Sport has been told by those close to the situation that such a move would be ‘highly unlikely’. At one stage, there had been discussions among broadcasters over a form of ‘discount’ tied to future rights deals, with negotiations domestically due to take place in the middle of next season. Again, such a situation is thought unlikely, with the market dictating the price.

The news may well come as a relief to top-flight clubs celebrating what appears to be a clear victory for the competition while worrying about the financial implications. It is thought that the only way that rights would drop dramatically would be if City’s punishment results in the loss of large numbers of subscribers between now and the next deal, which is also seen as unlikely.

Meanwhile, worried City staff were emailed a statement from chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak on Saturday which was also posted on the club’s website.

It is understood that few where in the club’s central offices on Friday, when the news broke. Al-Mubarak reiterated that he was confident that City would prevail.

The findings of the tribunal, which concluded in December 2024, are still to be made public.

An appeal from City’s expensively assembled legal team is viewed as an inevitability. They have 14 days to lodge such a request which would be heard by a separate panel.

A wide range of punishments, including expulsion, are available under Premier League rules. The original panel would take arguments from both sides before deciding on a penalty it feels befits the crime.