Manchester City's remarkable transformation into a dominant European football club coincided with a nine-season period of serious financial rule breaches, an independent Premier League commission has found. The breaches occurred between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons, during which City significantly expanded their squad and established themselves as a major force in English football. The club recruited high-profile players, including Sergio Agüero, Yaya Touré, and Kevin De Bruyne, and won their first Premier League titles of the modern era.
The Premier League said the commission found that City used commercial arrangements that artificially inflated the club's revenues and reduced its costs by more than £900 million over the affected period. The arrangements enabled the club to appear compliant with financial regulations when, according to the commission's findings, its actual financial position would have placed it in substantial breach of spending limits. City entered into "sham" contracts with commercial partners, and companies associated with City's commercial network paid only part of certain sponsorship fees.
The commission found that the remainder of the sponsorship fees was funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd, the organisation that owned the club. Similar arrangements were used to reduce the club's reported operating costs. City filed accounts that misstated its financial position and concealed the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators. The arrangements were designed to help the club circumvent financial rules governing profitability, sustainability, and UEFA financial fair play.
The period covered by the findings coincided with some of the most important recruitment in City's history. Agüero arrived from Atlético Madrid in 2011 and became one of the most prolific goalscorers in Premier League history. Touré joined from Barcelona in 2010 and played a central role in City's emergence as a title-winning side, while De Bruyne arrived from Wolfsburg in 2015 and became one of the defining midfielders of the club's modern era.
Manchester City have consistently denied wrongdoing throughout the Premier League's investigation and have rejected the commission's conclusions. Following the publication of the findings, the club maintained that the decision contained significant factual and legal errors. City subsequently exercised their right to appeal, with the Premier League confirming on October 2 that the club had formally lodged an appeal against the independent commission's decision.
The appeal means the case is not yet at its final legal stage. The appeal proceedings will be conducted privately, with the outcome to be published when permitted under the Premier League's rules. The issue of sanctions will be dealt with separately in a further hearing before the independent commission. That process is subject to the club's appeal, meaning the ultimate consequences of the findings remain unresolved.
The commission also found City guilty of the majority of charges relating to the club's alleged failure to cooperate with the Premier League's investigation. The league said three of four alleged breaches of the club's duties of cooperation and good faith were upheld. The final consequences for the club and its historical record remain unresolved until the appeal process is completed and any sanctions are determined.
Key points
- Manchester City's financial breach of over £900 million during the 2009/10 to 2017/18 seasons.
- The club's appeal against the independent commission's decision.
- The potential sanctions to be determined in a further hearing.
