Manchester City face severe sanctions after an independent commission found them guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over nine seasons, in what the league called the most significant disciplinary case in its history.
The commission found that the Abu Dhabi-backed club arranged “sham” contracts with commercial partners to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs by more than £900 million ($1.2 billion) between 2009 and 2018, Dawn and The Express Tribune reported, citing AFP.
No sanction has been imposed yet, and City say they will appeal.
What the commission found
By hiding the true state of their finances, City avoided breaching Premier League and UEFA spending limits. The commission found:
- Sponsorship deals: companies paid only part of their sponsorship fees, with the rest funded by the club’s owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan’s Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG)
- Hidden costs: further ADUG-funded arrangements let the club record lower operating expenses than it actually had
- Revenue: inflated by more than £830 million
- Image rights income: overstated by almost £74 million
- Staff contract liabilities: understated by nearly £17 million
Had City reported accurately, the commission said, they would have breached spending limits “by a very substantial amount”.
City were also found guilty on most of the charges of failing to co-operate, having “made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League” during a four-year investigation. The commission said evidence given by several key witnesses for City was “false in a number of key respects”, and that some had “given evidence at the hearing that they knew to be untrue and so had been dishonest”.
“The most significant in Premier League history”
“The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade,” Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said.
“This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history.”
Britain’s culture secretary Lisa Nandy said: “It’s incredibly serious, the Premier League report is incredibly stark.”
City to appeal
City expressed “surprise” at the decision and said they would keep fighting to clear their name. The club “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”, it said.
Could City be relegated?
Under league rules, the punishment can range from a fine to a points deduction or even expulsion from the division. Everton and Nottingham Forest were docked points in the 2023/24 season for single breaches of financial rules. If similar penalties were applied across more than 100 charges, City would almost certainly be relegated.
“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,” said the club’s former chairman, David Bernstein.
There is also debate over whether titles could be stripped. City won four league titles in the period covered by the charges, and have won eight in total over the past 15 years, along with four FA Cups, seven League Cups and the 2023 Champions League. Rival clubs are expected to seek compensation.
How the case began
The case followed leaked documents published by the German magazine Der Spiegel in 2018. The Premier League brought more than 100 charges in 2023, and the independent commission’s hearing ran from September 2024 for three months. City have been transformed into English football’s dominant force since Sheikh Mansour, the UAE’s vice-president, bought the club in 2008.
Why it matters
The ruling strikes at the heart of the world’s richest football league, and at a club built on Gulf state investment. Whatever the final punishment, the case will shape how English football polices club finances for years to come. For fans in Pakistan, where the Premier League has a huge following, it is the biggest football story of the season.
This article draws on reporting by AFP, via Dawn and The Express Tribune.
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