Mourinho jokes he could be 80 by City case verdict

José Mourinho joked that he could be 80 before Manchester City’s financial case reaches a final verdict, using the drawn-out proceedings to underline how long he expects the legal process to take. His remarks were made in an interview with Corriere dello Sport and were presented as humor, not a firm prediction of the timetable. Mourinho said a ruling would be followed by an appeal, extending the path to a final outcome. He described himself as being in his 60s and joked that he would need luck to still be around when the case concluded. The reports of his comments trace back to the same interview, rather than separate statements. The case concerns alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules between 2009 and 2018. Manchester City was charged in 2023. One report says an independent commission found the club guilty on 114 of 115 charges and that City lodged an appeal on October 1, challenging the commission’s findings. The appeal’s status and the applicable procedural timetable are not fully established in the available accounts, so Mourinho’s remark should not be read as an official estimate. Mourinho has a personal connection to one of the seasons discussed.