Manchester City reportedly held settlement talks with the Premier League before the independent commission delivered its guilty verdict last month. The discussions, described as an 'early-stage settlement', broke down, according to a report by Bloomberg.
City, who strongly deny any wrongdoing and have appealed the decision, were found guilty of all but one of the alleged charges. The report claims any punishment would have been a hefty financial payment rather than the stripping of titles or relegation, according to those sourced.
Settlement talks collapse
It is claimed the talks quickly fell apart with City adamant about their innocence. The sheer number of charges meant the reported financial proposal would have only reduced the size of the case rather than resolved it.
Any settlement agreement would also have been strongly opposed by the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, who missed out on titles during City's run of silverware. Agreeing to a settlement would not have meant any acknowledgement of wrongdoing.
Severe penalties loom
City face the prospect of severe penalties after the commission ruled they had "clearly intended to circumvent Premier League rules" across a nine-season spell. The club were found to have participated in an almost £1billion scheme designed to artificially boost revenues or cut costs through a string of "sham" arrangements to sidestep league and UEFA financial regulations.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters branded the case and ruling as "the most significant in Premier League history", with the league's probe having begun back in 2018. Over 100 charges were brought against City in February 2023, with the commission examining the case between September and December 2024.
Appeal lodged
The same commission will now determine what sanctions ought to be handed down, while the club swiftly confirmed plans to appeal, claiming the decision "contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe". City chief executive Ferran Soriano told staff on a video that the commission had bought into the Premier League's "conspiracy theory".
The club were found to have run a "disguised funding scheme" in which companies from Abu Dhabi paid a fraction of the amount recorded on the club's accounts, with the remainder settled by Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), the company through which Sheikh Mansour controls the club. The scheme was found to have artificially inflated revenue by more than £830m across the nine-season spell between 2009-10 and 2017-18. The club were also found to have exaggerated income from image rights by almost £74m, while understating liabilities for staff contracts by almost £17m.
City lodged an appeal and in a statement said: "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."
