The Premier League said on Tuesday that Manchester City had been found guilty of serious breaches of its financial rules over a nine-season period from 2009 to 2018.
An independent commission found that City had arranged sham contracts with several commercial partners to artificially inflate the club’s revenues, obscuring the true state of its finances and helping it avoid breaches of Premier League and UEFA spending limits.
The commission also found the club guilty on the majority of charges relating to its failure to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation.
No sanction has yet been imposed, and City said it would appeal the decision.
“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 chairman Richard Masters said in a statement.
“Now we have the commission’s decision, we are committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process, to provide certainty for the league, our clubs and fans.”
Since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, vice-president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, took over the club in 2008, Manchester City have become one of the dominant forces in English football.
The club have won eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups and seven League Cups over the past 15 years, as well as their first Champions League title in 2023.
But that same year, City were charged by the Premier League following a lengthy investigation into alleged financial-rule breaches.
The hearing before an independent commission began in September 2024 and concluded three months later.
“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,” the club said in a statement.
AFP
