Former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart has said he trusts club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak's claims that the club will "prove their innocence" despite the expectation that they will be found guilty of the majority of breaches of Premier League financial rules.
ESPN reported on Friday that City are expected to be found guilty on the vast majority of the 115 charges. Although the Premier League have not commented on what it calls a "private and confidential process," City have not denied the guilty verdict and have said that the process "remains ongoing."
In a statement published on Friday, Al Mubarak said that "nothing has changed" regarding the club's legal battle with the Premier League and added that "our confidence and intent in proving the club's innocence is just as strong as when this began."
Hart, who played for City between 2006 and 2016, told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club that he has "nothing but love and respect" for Al Mubarak.
Joe Hart won the Premier League twice with Man City during his time at the Etihad. ANDREW YATES / AFP via Getty Images "I've heard everyone else go down every single rabbit hole, every single wormhole, every single discussion and be given free rein to say whatever they want about something that hasn't been proven," Hart said.
"My honest opinion is I've got no reason not to trust Khaldoon... He's been excellent with everything that he's done with Manchester City... I've got nothing but love for the club, nothing but love for him, nothing but respect for him.
"I realise it's opened up a can of worms. I realise it's opened up what ifs and buts and maybes and how and who... But when there's speculation in the air, it's just speculation.
"My genuine feeling, as someone who played for the club, is that I'm going to have to let it play out... But for me, someone who I trust, someone who's led me and led the club brilliantly, what he said is enough."
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Hart was adamant that "nothing concrete" has happened yet with regards to this legal battle reaching a conclusion.
"I loved how he [Al Mubarak] spoke. I loved the letter because that was from someone who cared about the club.
"I can't get involved in the ifs and the buts and the maybes. If Man City are found guilty, which I don't think they are because of what Khaldoon said, then there are conversations to be had.