Coach Pep Guardiola said he was pleased that the hearing into the 115 charges against Manchester City for alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules will begin on Monday.

After a four-year investigation, charges were brought against City and referred to an independent commission in February 2023.

It is alleged that City breached Premier League financial rules between 2009 and 2018.

The city strongly denies all allegations and says its case is supported by “extensive, irrefutable evidence.”

“It will start soon and hopefully end soon,” Guardiola said of the hearing. “An independent panel will decide and I look forward to the decision.”

“I’m glad it starts on Monday. I know there will be more rumors and new experts on the verdicts. We’ll see. I know what people are looking forward to, what they expect. I know what I’ve been reading for many, many years.

“Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. So we’ll see.”

The trial, announced as the “sports trial of the century,” is expected to last ten weeks, with a verdict expected in early 2025.

The Premier League also accused the reigning champions of not cooperating with their investigations.

When the Premier League investigation began, City said the allegations were “completely false” and that the allegations, originally published in German newspaper Der Spiegel, were based on “illegal hacking and the publication of City emails out of context”.

If City are found guilty of the most serious charges, they could face a points deduction so severe that the club would be condemned to relegation or even expulsion from the Premier League.

City have won eight league titles, several cups and the Champions League since being taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008.