In a story where so many involved do not feel they can say a thing, Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak evidently felt the authority to talk.

He also felt he needed to, as he issued a letter to supporters regarding Friday’s news that the club is expected to be found guilty of nearly all of the charges in the notorious Premier League case. This is big business for Abu Dhabi interests, but it’s also personal, as illustrated by Al Mubarak’s reference to friends and family.

While the club chairman pointed to how his letter “underwent several legal checks to make sure it complies” to “the strict confidentiality of the legal process”, it was strident.

“Our confidence and intent in proving the Club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began,” wrote Al Mubarak, as he also referenced two previous statements from the club, including from the day the charges first dropped in February 2023 .

It was the latter which contained the oft-quoted description of a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence”, that here became “so many things that I would like to be able to share with you to help you understand why we feel so confident in our position” but the point stands.

Going by the anticipated outcome, the independent panel appears to have found much of that evidence quite refutable.

Two other lines that stood out were: “There remain many who want to undermine the momentum of our club. We will not give them that opportunity.”

Given that was in a letter about the Premier League case, it should be re-iterated that the competition was duty-bound to pursue an investigation from Der Spiegel’ s leaks in November 2018.