Manchester City have been found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules across a nine-year period, after an independent commission concluded that the club artificially inflated revenues and reduced costs by more than £900 million through a series of arrangements the panel described as “sham” commercial deals.
The commission found that City had structured fictitious sponsorship contracts with commercial partners, under which those partners paid only a portion of the agreed fee while the remainder was covertly funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Ltd, the entity that owns the club on behalf of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan. The scheme ran across nine seasons from 2009-10 to 2017-18 and was designed, the commission concluded, to make City appear compliant with Premier League and Uefa financial spending limits when the club would otherwise have been in significant breach. Separate “sham” image rights arrangements were also found to have been entered into with players and then manager Roberto Mancini to artificially inflate their recorded earnings.
The commission also concluded that evidence given by several key witnesses on behalf of the club had been false in material respects, with some of those witnesses described by the panel as having been “dishonest”. The 40-page core decision, published in redacted form, followed a 42-day hearing that concluded in December 2024 and took close to two years to produce.
City have confirmed they will appeal before Friday’s deadline, characterising the decision as containing “clear material errors, of law, principle and fact”. Chief executive Ferran Soriano told employees in a video message that the ruling rested on what he described as a “Premier League conspiracy theory”. The club continues to deny any wrongdoing, stating that a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” supports all of its positions.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the case as the most significant in the organisation’s history and indicated the league intends to move through the remaining stages as quickly as possible. A sanctions hearing now follows, with an unprecedented punishment widely anticipated. Points deductions on a scale that could effectively relegate the club are considered a realistic outcome. For context, Everton received a ten-point deduction for exceeding profitability and sustainability rules by £19.5 million, based on a tariff of six points for the initial breach plus one additional point per £5 million overspent. City’s alleged overspend is of an entirely different order.
The appeal process is expected to run alongside the sanctions hearing as both parties move towards a resolution.
