Manchester City found in breach of Premier League financial rules across nine seasons

Pinned summary · as of 15:38

An independent commission has held Manchester City responsible for grave violations of the top flight's financial regulations between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons. It also found the club at fault on most of the charges linked to a failure to cooperate with the league's inquiry. No punishment has been announced yet.

What we know

• An independent commission ruled against Manchester City on serious breaches of the league's financial regulations covering the nine seasons from 2009/10 to 2017/18.
• The commission also upheld most of the charges that City failed to cooperate with the league's investigation.
• According to the reports, the commission concluded that City relied on commercial contracts it described as sham and submitted accounts that misstated the club's finances, with the effect of inflating revenue and lowering costs.
• No sanction has been imposed so far. The penalty will be dealt with at a separate stage of the process.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Pulse Ghana reported that the commission found some sponsors paid only part of their fees, with the rest covered by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd, and that an image-rights arrangement involving a company called Fordham was funded the same way. Other reports have not confirmed these details.
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  Pulse Ghana said the commission concluded the club would have exceeded both Premier League and UEFA spending limits by a wide margin had the arrangements been recorded accurately, and that it found City made concerted efforts to frustrate the investigation, upholding three of four cooperation breaches. Other reports have not confirmed these findings.
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  Pulse Ghana reported that Premier League chief executive Richard Masters called the case the most significant in the league's history and said its outcome showed that “the club systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade”. The league's own account has not been confirmed by other reports.
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  Reports differ on City's next step. Pulse Ghana said the club has until Friday, 2 October to appeal, while The Vaultz News reported that City rejected the findings and intends to appeal; the club's statement has not been confirmed by other reports.
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  The Vaultz News reported that Pep Guardiola, who stepped down as the club's manager when last season ended, posted a message of support on Instagram on Wednesday, telling fans, “Let me be clear: we will get through this together”. This has not been confirmed by other reports.
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  Pulse Ghana reported that the case was referred to an independent commission in February 2023 and that the commission's core decision has been released in redacted form; no other report confirms this.

Why it matters for Ghana

Premier League football has a large following in Ghana, so supporters of City and of rival clubs will be watching how the process ends. The reports say the penalty has not yet been set and that City can still challenge the findings, so the effect on the club's results, titles or standing remains unknown. The case also shows how a league can hold a club to account over its accounts and its dealings with the regulator.