Manchester City was found guilty of 114 charges in its decades-long financial cheating scandal last week. The Premier League affirmed the guilty ruling on Tuesday to the apparent dismay of club CEO Ferran Soriano.
And while Soriano dodged questions from reporters, he did deliver a defiant message to his staff in a leaked video (confirmed by Sky Sports). But if Soriano was actually delivering that message to his employees, he managed to do so without blinking for 3.5 minutes.
In the video where Soriano pledged to fight the charges and exonerate the club — which was found guilty of sham payments to circumvent financial fair play rules — the Manchester City CEO was either AI-enhanced or an AI-generated avatar.
🚨 | BREAKING: #ManCity CEO Ferran Soriano
has addressed staff over the guilty verdicts, insisting the club will fight through every available legal avenue: “The whole Premier League case against us is based on a single false accusation.” pic.twitter.com/63Pf9fsvGw
— City Chief (@City_Chief) September 29, 2026
There was one cut in the video, suggesting that it some of it was done in multiple takes. But at the very least, Soriano's eyes were digitally altered to hide that he was reading or visibly nervous. The lack of authenticity from Soriano only added to how awful the club looks amid the scandal.
Soccer fans absolutely noticed the lack of blinking.
How social media reacted
Unless I've missed it, either this video is at the very least AI-enhanced or Ferran Soriano has gone over three minutes without blinking https://t.co/6j12df51Lc
— George Simms (@GeorgeRSimms) September 29, 2026
It’s not important, but in this video Ferran Soriano goes 3 minutes without blinking https://t.co/RoS7Oo4PmR
— Out of Context Football Manager (@nocontextfm1) September 29, 2026
This is AI… they forgot to add blinking to the prompt. https://t.co/xQIznTDrUm
— JESSICA BLACK (@JessicaBlackTV) September 29, 2026
He did not blink his eye a single time wow AI at work be that https://t.co/VSVwjngU4s
— Adjor🔱 (@thekingadjor) September 30, 2026
If you understand AI you know exactly WHY this is AI. Theres at least 6 clear things that instantly tell you this is AI. https://t.co/l5zY80BNP9
— Faz (@planetfaz) September 30, 2026
There is irrefutable evidence that he DOESN'T BLINK in this video!
— Saikiran Kannan | 赛基兰坎南 (@saikirankannan) September 30, 2026
AI video statement!?#ManchesterCity https://t.co/xgonlgoAaD
Blink if you're not guilty. https://t.co/DAbnCk5VGt
— 🤖 (@KongrawDarts) September 29, 2026
Now we know how they could cheat and defraud city fans without even blinking https://t.co/Tl7QVFUrYz
— Indiana_imo (@indiana_imo) September 29, 2026
The Premier League gave the club until Friday to present its appeal. It remains to be seen what the sanctions against Manchester City will look like, but the punishment is expected to be devastating.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Fans noticed that Manchester City CEO impossibly didn't blink once in leaked video to staff
