Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has branded La Liga chief Javier Tebas and other critics "jealous", and insists his side will not be banned from the Champions League or receive a transfer ban as long as investigations into its conduct are "judged on facts".
City won an unprecedented domestic treble this season but in recent weeks their sporting achievements have had to share the spotlight with allegations of widespread rule breaking and even the policy of the Abu Dhabi government and royal family, given Al Mubarak and Blues owner Sheikh Mansour have strong links to both.
“He (Tebas) talks about how we distorted the market? There is a hypocrisy in this statement that is ironic,” the City chairman said. “Number one, let’s look at the Spanish league, the time of breaking records on player acquisitions, I mean, who started that?
“Let’s go back to the world records, [Luis] Figo, [Zinedine] Zidane. These huge jumps in these transfers, where did they happen? You know, the history, you have to look back at the history of La Liga, a league dominated by two clubs, and Mr Tebas should look back at the history of that league and how distortion has happened throughout the ages.
“With success, there is a certain level of jealousy, envy, whatever you call it, that’s part of the game,” he continued. “You know when Manchester United dominated the Premier League for many years, they know what they had to deal with for so many years, that’s part of the game.
“It’s not easy for our competition, we know that; and by the way, the football world is very small and word comes around very quickly so you know, when someone somewhere in a leading position in any club says something, or briefs something, guess what? We know about it."
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