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Manchester City has been found guilty of all but one of 115 charges filed against it by the Premier League for allegedly breaching the league’s financial regulations. City is expected to appeal the verdict, and its punishment has yet to be officially determined.
The verdict was first reported by The Athletic’s David Ornstein.
In 2023, the Premier League alleged the club breached financial regulations between 2009 and 2018. The league accused City of providing misleading financial records that failed to give a “true and fair view of the club’s financial position” after an investigation, and subsequently referred the case to an independent commission.
Specific allegations included that the club presented money allegedly originating from its ownership group as independent sponsorship revenue, that it failed to disclose payments to players and managers outside their officially reported remuneration, and that it did not comply with UEFA’s financial fair play regulations.
Manchester City did not return Front Office Sports’s request for comment. The Premier League declined to comment.
“The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality,” the club wrote in a statement to The Athletic. “As such Manchester City FC’s position remains consistent with the club’s statement of February 2023,” when the charges were first handed down.
“The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair minded regulator, free from partisan influence,” the statement continued.
City’s February 2023 statement said the club was “surprised” by the allegations and that it welcomed an independent investigation.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, bought City in 2008. Mansour quickly transformed the club from an overshadowed neighbor of perennial champions Manchester United to a powerhouse in its own right.
The club has since won eight Premier League titles, three of which came during the period for which it is currently under investigation.
In 2020, UEFA issued City a two-year ban from European competition and a £30 million fine for breaching the European soccer governing body’s financial fair play rules, but the ruling was overruled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport later that year.
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