Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges of serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, the league has announced.
The club was charged in February 2023 following a four-year investigation into its financial dealings across the nine seasons. City said it will appeal the independent commission’s decision.
What the commission found
The Premier League said the commission found that City “arranged ‘sham’ contracts” with several commercial partners, misrepresenting the true agreements between the parties.
It also found the club used schemes “to artificially inflate the club’s revenues, and reduce its costs, by more than 900 million pounds ($1.2bn) during the affected period, to appear to comply with financial rules.”
The commission found that City arranged commercial deals under which companies paid only part of the sponsorship fees. The remainder was funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development, which owned the club.
Further arrangements funded by the group enabled City to record lower operating expenses than they had actually incurred.
The commission said the club would have breached spending limits “by a very substantial amount” had it reported its finances accurately. It also found that City “made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League” during the investigation.
Premier League reaction
“The core decision … details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade,” said Richard Masters, chief executive of the Premier League.
“There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches,” he said.
UK Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “It’s incredibly serious, the Premier League report is incredibly stark.”
City to appeal
City, who deny any wrongdoing, said they were “disappointed and surprised” by the commission’s opinion.
“The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case,” the club said.
“Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.”
Possible sanctions
The Premier League charged City with more than 100 alleged breaches in 2023. Possible sanctions include a points deduction, a fine or expulsion from the division.
Everton and Nottingham Forest were handed points deductions during the 2023-24 season for single breaches of financial sustainability rules.
Calls for expulsion
David Bernstein, who served as City chairman from 1998 to 2003, said the club should be expelled from the Premier League.
“It is damning beyond belief. My immediate thoughts are, should the board continue? Should the people involved be suspended immediately?” Bernstein told the BBC.
“Very, very serious. I think it’s really terrible. There’s a school of thought with lawyers that is deny, deny, deny, but this is a football club that is part of a league and the whole credibility of the league is at stake here.
“The sanctions cannot just be financial, so it’s got to be way beyond that. If the appeal fails, Manchester City cannot stay in the league, they have to suffer. And I say that as a supporter and a fan.”
Dominance under Sheikh Mansour
Since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, vice-president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, took over in 2008, City have become a dominant force in English football. They have won eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups and seven League Cups in 15 years, plus their first Champions League title in 2023.
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