Burnham was mayor of Manchester from 2017 until earlier this year and his tenure came during a period of enduring success for City.
As mayor, he championed Gulf investment as a way to grow Manchester’s economy, a strategy which was initially pursued by city leaders before Burnham became the first elected mayor of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
“I don’t think I spoke badly,” Burnham said of his past comments about Man City’s owners.
“What I would say is that I wasn’t thinking about all the issues. My mind was on the Labor Party conference and I was doing interviews about that.
“And also, I didn’t make a connection between those two things. You know, the questions linked those two things. What I would say is that they are very distinct.
“Football issues are different from investment issues. People will try to confuse these two things, but they shouldn’t, in my opinion.
“The issues related to football, the conclusions of the independent commission are serious, as I said in the interview.”
The entire process involving the charges against Manchester City is independent of the Premier League.
An independent commission held a 42-day hearing in 2024 which resulted in the verdict announced last month, with City found equally guilty on all but one charge relating to non-cooperation with the Premier League investigation.
The commission’s report states that “a number of significant club witnesses gave false evidence on key matters and some knowingly gave false and dishonest evidence.”
A separate independent appeals panel will hear the City’s appeal. The club continues to deny any wrongdoing.
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