Man City deemed guilty of all 115 financial breaches after independent commission ruling
An independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules, bringing the long-running 115-charge case into its closing stages.
The commission found that Man City arranged “sham” commercial contracts with a number of partners between 2009/10 and 2017/18 as part of what it described as a disguised funding scheme.
According to the findings, Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), which owned the club, funded £830.69m of sponsorship payments that were recorded as commercial revenue.
Deeper look into findings
The arrangements allowed Man City to artificially inflate their revenues and reduce costs, with the commission finding that the wider schemes affected more than £900m over the nine-season period.
The commission also found that Man City submitted misstated accounts which concealed the true state of the club's finances from auditors and football regulators.
As a consequence, the club was found to have been significantly in breach of both Premier League and UEFA spending limits during the period under investigation.
The commission also upheld three of four alleged breaches relating to Man City's cooperation with the Premier League investigation.
The report made further findings regarding evidence presented by Man City witnesses, with the commission concluding that some important witnesses had given false evidence and that certain witnesses had knowingly provided untrue testimony.
Sanction awaits
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters called the ruling the most significant disciplinary decision in the competition's history and said it established the facts of Man City's conduct during the period.
However, the sanction has yet to be determined.
The Premier League said it intends to move swiftly towards the next stage, while City have strongly rejected the findings and confirmed they will pursue an appeal, arguing that the decision contains material errors of law, principle and fact.
The Premier League's investigation began in 2018, with the formal complaint issued in February 2023.
The independent commission's 42-day hearing concluded in December 2024.
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