HM Revenue & Customs reportedly probed Manchester City in 2018 to see whether the Premier League club used complex arrangements to evade tax. That's nearly a decade before the club was found guilty of breaching the top-flight's financial rules by an independent commission.
The club were found guilty of all but one of the charges following an investigation that has spanned almost a decade. The Financial Times says UK tax authorities opened a civil investigation into Man City's tax affairs following a leak of internal emails by Der Spiegel in 2018.
Leaked emails sparked investigations
It was those leaked emails that acted as the catalyst for the Premier League investigation, which launched in December of that year, to see whether the club had manipulated its finances.
The result of the independent commission's investigation was published last month, judging that Man City have artificially inflated its finances by more than £900m between 2009 and 2018 through 'sham' commercial deals. The club still vehemently denies those allegations and has appealed the recent guilty verdict.
HMRC probe details
The recently published report shows that the club disguised funding from owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan as commercial revenue. The guilty verdict has sent shockwaves through European football, with the fallout of the investigation set to rumble on.
The report from the Financial Times claims HMRC's earlier probe was never formally closed, and conducted under a 'so-called Code of Practise 9 investigation.' It's a civil inquiry used by the body when they suspect a person or company has used complex structures to avoid tax avoidance, but COP8 investigations do not involve suspicions of deliberate fraud.
Club's response and appeal
It's claims City instructed external lawyers to advise it on the probe, with the club arguing to HMRC that there was nothing untoward about its commercial agreements. As a result, HMRC has not taken any action.
Both Man City and HMRC declined to comment. The 2018 investigation has come to light just a week after Chair of the Treasury select committee, Dame Meg Hillier, wrote to HMRC to enquire about the Premier League's investigation into the club. Hillier asked permanent secretary of the tax authority, John-Paul Marks, for reassurance that he understood "the importance" of the case.
Manchester City formally lodged an appeal against the damning ruling last week, having had until Friday, October 2 to do so.
A statement published on mancity.com read: "Manchester City Football Club can confirm that, at 7pm on Thursday 1st October 2026, the club lodged its comprehensive appeal against the opinion of the Premier League commission, in relation to the Premier League disciplinary matter."
"The club's firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe."
"The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions relating to this case."
"We will continue to respect due process and are necessarily restricted in what we can say further until all proceedings are complete."
