Manchester City have been found guilty of almost all of more than 100 charges of financial irregularities - confirmed by the Premier League on Tuesday - in what is one of the biggest scandals in English football history. City, the most successful team in England for the past 15 years, now face severe sanctions that could include a massive drop in the standings or even expulsion from the Premier League, dealing a major blow to the image of their Abu Dhabi-based owners.
Decision: "Systematically violated the rules"
The explosive decision by an independent panel "illustrates in detail how the club has systematically breached Premier League rules for almost a decade," said Richard Masters, the Premier League's chief executive, in a case opened by the league more than three years ago and which arose in 2018 from leaked club emails and documents. City were accused of a series of financial irregularities between 2009 and 2018: years during which the north-west club - long overshadowed by arch-rival Manchester United - was transforming into a record-breaking global superpower, capable of winning multiple Premier League and Champions League titles. The offences include failing to declare accurate financial data, inflating figures for sponsorship deals coming from Abu Dhabi, concealing additional payments for managers and players' salaries, and breaching financial rules set by the Premier League and UEFA to ensure clubs' financial stability by preventing them from spending beyond their means. In addition, there are numerous other allegations relating to City's lack of cooperation with the investigation between 2018 and 2023.
"An independent panel has found Manchester City guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules over a period of nine seasons," the league said, "and of most charges relating to a failure to cooperate with the league's own investigation." Regarding sponsorship deals, the league said: "Manchester City prepared contracts (which distorted the real deal between the parties) with several commercial partners, in addition to using agreements with other entities, with the aim of artificially inflating the club's revenues and reducing its costs." "The club," the league added, "presented false balance sheets and concealed the real financial position from auditors and football's control bodies."
The case is set to plunge English football into chaos, with the risk of a series of legal actions by rival clubs seeking compensation for the consequences suffered because of City's actions. It also remains to be seen whether City's big stars, such as Erling Haaland, will stay at the club and what the future holds for Sheikh Mansour. The latter, the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, bought City in 2008.
City denies the allegations in an official statement
Manchester City FC says it is "both disappointed and surprised by the Premier League Commission's opinion published today". The club "rejects the allegations made by the Premier League and has a large amount of irrefutable evidence to support its position in this matter". Manchester City also announces that it "will act decisively and, where necessary, proactively in all relevant regulatory and legal forums". "The Premier League's proceedings are still ongoing and there are significant aspects that remain unresolved. Manchester City FC now intends to use the appeal options available to it, believing that the opinion contains manifestly fundamental errors - of law, principle and fact - and that it is without legal basis. For eight years - the statement says - the Club has scrupulously respected the orderly conduct of the proceedings, believing that the Premier League Council and its directors would act as an independent, impartial and fair review body, free from the influence of parties". The club "is naturally limited in the statements it can make until all future procedures are completed."
