Manchester City Chairman Accuses Critics of 'Jealousy' and 'Hypocrisy'

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has hit out at the club's critics and accused them of "jealousy" and "hypocrisy." 

Per Goal's Sam Lee, UEFA is set to pass judgement on the club after investigating alleged breaches of financial fair play rules, while FIFA is looking into their recruitment of young overseas players and alleged third-party ownership breaches.

The Sky Blues, who deny wrongdoing on all counts, are also under investigation from the FA and the Premier League, too. The former is scrutinising their acquisition of youth players within England, while the latter is looking at finances, youth recruitment and third-party ownership, according to Lee.

Al Mubarak slammed those who have criticised the club in an interview for City's official website:

Per Lee, he said: "With success, there is a certain level of jealousy, envy, whatever you call it, that's part of the game."

Al Mubarak said Manchester United had to deal with similar issues during their dominant era in the Premier League, and added:

"The reality is, we didn't buy the most expensive player in the Premier League, we didn't buy the most expensive goalkeeper, we didn't buy the most expensive midfielder, we didn't buy the most expensive striker, so when people throw that, you know what they throw at us, I go back: let's look at facts, let's talk about facts.

"I will not accept for this club to be used as a diversionary tactic on poor investment decisions from other clubs. People make decisions, they've got to live by them. We've managed ourselves well and we will be judged by facts and facts alone. This is a well-run club."

Al Mubarak spoke after City completed a domestic treble this season, an unprecedented achievement in men's football in England.

Having secured the Carabao Cup in February and won the Premier League title with 98 points—which saw them finish their campaign with 14 consecutive victories—City's season culminated in a 6-0 thrashing of Watford in the FA Cup final.

The Independent's Miguel Delaney was disheartened by the one-sided nature of the final:

As Nick Harris of Sporting Intelligence observed, City have managed to use their vast wealth to achieve such dominance despite FFP restrictions:

Per Lee, La Liga President Javier Tebas recently hit out at City and Paris Saint-Germain, who are owned by the Qatari state, and accused them of "inflating the market." 

City's chairman responded:

"He talks about how we distorted the market? There is a hypocrisy in this statement that is ironic. No. 1 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."

The Sky Blues' record signing is Riyad Mahrez, whom the club acquired from Leicester City in a £60 million deal last summer.

While that's well short of the €222 million PSG splashed out on Neymar, it's still an enormous amount for a squad player who started a combined 18 matches in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League this season.

The club's spending under manager Pep Guardiola, who arrived in 2016, totals around £500 million.

Al Mubarak is not worried about the investigations being conducted into the club's affairs, though. UEFA's could lead to a ban from the Champions League if wrongdoing is discovered.

"We are going through the appropriate steps, and we're confident in our position, very comfortable in our position," he said. "I'm not concerned about that because facts will prevail."