Former Manchester United star Juan Mata joked he may finally be a Premier League winner after Manchester City were found guilty of the vast majority of the 115 charges against them.
The Premier League accused City of widespread financial doping over an era of sustained success and Daily Mail Sport understands they have succeeded in proving all of the substantive claims.
Sanctions have not yet been announced but stripping the club of titles and expulsion are among the options on the table following the seismic ruling, which leaked on Friday.
Mata, 38, finished second with United under Jose Mourinho in the 2017-18 season – the last campaign covered by the charges against their arch rivals – and would be in line to benefit in the unlikely event City are stripped of their titles.
Asked about the City decision, the Spaniard told ITV: ‘It directly affects me.
‘I’ve been lucky enough to play many games and win some trophies but never won the Premier League — or have I?
Former Manchester United star Juan Mata has joked that he may finally be a Premier League winner after Man City were found guilty of most of the 115 charges against them
He was part of the side that finished second to Manchester City in the 2017-18 campaign
‘I don’t know what’s going to happen.’
Mata is the latest former United star to publicly respond to the guilty verdict, with Roy Keane telling ‘cheating’ City they need to ‘take their medicine’ and ‘deserve to be punished.
David De Gea on Saturday echoed Rio Ferdinand’s calls for City to be stripped of the title in 2011-12. ‘So…… Let’s talk,’ he posted on X. ‘How many Premier League titles have I won then?’
City deny wrongdoing and are set to appeal the decision. On Saturday, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said the club is confident it will clear its name.
In a letter to fans, Al Mubarak writes that, despite reporting, the Premier League’s process ‘still has a long way to run’ and adds ‘our confidence in proving the club’s innocence remains as strong as it was when this began’.
‘We have faced challenges before and prevailed,’ he added.
Daily Mail Sport also reported the Premier League’s victory over Manchester City will trigger a series of legal claims for as much as £800m – although the case itself may rumble on for another two years.
Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United served formal notices reserving their right to take action in the event that City – who could now face expulsion from the top flight – be found guilty.
Representatives have already begun putting together a case on how much they feel they have a claim for, pointing out that they have lost potential income on the back of City’s cheating.
It is thought that those who feel most badly done to, with Tottenham having missed out on a Champions League spot on a number of occasions, will ask for the biggest sums.
According to those with knowledge of the situation, £200m would not be an outrageous estimate.
City have won 26 trophies since the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008, including eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups and the Champions League as part of their 2023 Treble-winning season.
READ MORE: OLIVER HOLT: Strip Man City of ALL eight of their Premier League titles and relegate them for their defrauding of Man United and Liverpool’s history. English football is broken irretrievably and will never be the same again
