Manchester City found guilty of financial rule breaches as appeal deadline set

Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules over nine seasons, as well as most of the allegations that they failed to co-operate with the league’s investigation.

The independent commission found that the breaches took place between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons. The club was found to have used sham commercial contracts, submitted misleading accounts and concealed its true financial position from auditors and football regulators.

It also concluded that Manchester City significantly breached spending limits imposed by both the Premier League and UEFA.

The commission found that the club entered into fictitious commercial agreements with several sponsors as part of a concealed funding arrangement. Those companies were required to pay only part of the sponsorship fees, with the remainder funded by the club’s owner, Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited (ADUG).

Other arrangements funded by ADUG allegedly allowed Manchester City to record lower operating costs than it actually incurred. The commission also found a sham agreement with Fordham University, which had bought the image rights of the club’s players, with that deal also funded by ADUG.

The purpose of the arrangements was to artificially increase Manchester City’s reported income and reduce its costs by more than £900m during the period under review, allowing the club to appear compliant with financial regulations.

The commission said the club had consequently failed to report its income and expenditure accurately under the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules and UEFA’s club licensing and financial fair play regulations.

Had all the relevant agreements been properly recorded, the commission concluded Manchester City would have exceeded the spending limits set by both organisations “by a very substantial amount”.

The club was also found guilty of three of the four alleged breaches of its duty to co-operate fully and in good faith with a Premier League investigation that lasted four years. The commission said City had “made strenuous efforts to stop and thwart the Premier League’s investigation”.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: “The ruling sets out the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically breached the Premier League’s rules over nearly a decade.”

He added: “This ruling also confirms the correctness of the Premier League’s decision to pursue this case against Manchester City. Although the proceedings to date have been lengthy and arduous, the league has remained determined to establish the facts independently.”

Masters said the case was “the most important disciplinary case, and this decision, in the history of the Premier League”. He said the appropriate punishment still had to be determined and that the league would complete the remaining process “as quickly as possible”.

The ruling was published in a redacted form after the commission, and subsequently the appeal board, determined that it was a “final decision”. A separate, confidential hearing will decide the punishment, which could include fines, a points deduction or other sporting sanctions.

Manchester City have until Friday, 2 October to appeal the commission’s findings. The Premier League board intends to complete the full process, including any appeals and publication of relevant decisions, as quickly as possible.

The Premier League began its investigation in December 2018 and issued a complaint under section W of its rules in February 2023. The commission’s hearing lasted 42 days and ended in December 2024.

The commission said it had taken longer than hoped to issue its ruling, despite having access to all hearing documents, about 7,000 pages of witness and expert transcripts, and detailed written submissions from the parties, supplemented by four days of oral arguments.

Proceedings under section W are confidential. The Premier League may publish final decisions in accordance with its rules, but further information will remain confidential unless publication is permitted and not prohibited by law.