Manchester City have been found guilty on almost all of more than 100 charges of financial cheating brought by the Premier League, according to sources, in a disciplinary saga that has no precedent in English football history.
The independent commission’s decision emerged almost two years after the hearing of the charges in late 2024, following a mammoth investigation that began in December 2018. The charges cover the period from 2009-10 to 2022-23, spanning the era of success under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, of the Abu Dhabi ruling family.
Charges and findings
The charges include failing to provide accurate financial information to the league for nine seasons from 2009-10 to 2017-18, failing to provide full details of payment in contracts with manager Roberto Mancini from 2009-10 to 2012-13, and failing to include full payment details in player contracts from 2010-11 to 2015-16.
City were also charged with breaching Uefa’s financial fair play regulations from 2013-14 to 2017-18, the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability regulations from 2015-16 to 2017-18, and failing to cooperate with the league’s investigation from its inception in 2018-19 to the 2022-23 season.
Investigation and response
The saga was precipitated in November 2018 by the German magazine Der Spiegel publishing internal City documents, leaked from a hack of the club’s emails. The documents appeared to show Sheikh Mansour’s ownership group was paying the bulk of the multimillion-pound sponsorship by the Abu Dhabi airline Etihad, including the stadium naming rights.
City always denied any wrongdoing. In February 2020, Uefa’s adjudicatory chamber concluded City were guilty of deception over sponsorships and imposed a two-year Champions League ban, but the court of arbitration for Sport overturned that in July 2020, finding only that the club had failed to cooperate and imposing a €10m fine.
The Premier League announced in March 2019 it was investigating, and a British court judgment in July 2021 revealed City and their lawyers had been trying to block the process at every step. The league brought a legal arbitration process against the club, and a tribunal ordered City to provide documents in November 2020. City appealed to the high court, but in March 2021 Mrs Justice Moulder ruled against the club.
Impact and next steps
The Premier League unveiled the charges in February 2023, and City won the Champions League in June 2023 and a record-breaking fourth consecutive Premier League title in 2023-24, even as the accusations moved towards a hearing.
City said the process “remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality”. The question of whether City could be stripped of titles and how extreme any sanctions could be remains unanswered, and City can apparently appeal against the findings.
