The Premier League has officially confirmed that Manchester City has been found guilty of breaching the competition's financial rules over a nine-season period. An independent commission discovered that the club failed to co-operate with the League's investigation and committed multiple breaches of its duties. The breaches occurred between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons. Manchester City's actions included arranging 'sham' contracts with commercial partners to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs.
The independent commission's findings revealed that Manchester City filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators. The club significantly breached both the Premier League's and UEFA's spending limits. During the investigation, Manchester City committed multiple breaches of its duties of co-operation and utmost good faith towards the League. Three of the four alleged breaches were upheld by the commission. These actions allowed the club to disguise the true nature of its funding.
Manchester City arranged "sham" commercial deals with sponsors during the period, which were part of a disguised funding scheme. Under this scheme, the companies were only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees. The remainder was funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club. As a result, City failed to accurately report its income and expenditure for the purposes of the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules and UEFA's Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Rules.
The Premier League's Chief Executive, Richard Masters, commented on the decision, stating that it establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during the period in question. He emphasized that the League remains committed to upholding the Rules approved by the clubs themselves to protect the integrity of the competition. Masters described the disciplinary case and decision as the most significant in Premier League history.
The Premier League's determination to pursue the case against Manchester City was vindicated by the commission's decision. While the process has been long and difficult, the League has remained committed to establishing the facts independently. The League's role is to ensure that the competition remains competitive and fair for all clubs and fans. The decision marks a significant step in the process, with the remaining issue being the sanction that will follow for the breaches.
The commission's decision details how Manchester City systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade. The club's actions included misrepresenting the true agreement between the parties and relying on 'sham' agreements with others. The Premier League is now committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process to provide certainty for the League, its clubs, and fans.
The Premier League's statement concluded that the decision is a key responsibility of the League to ensure that the Rules are upheld. The League takes this role extremely seriously and will continue to work towards a swift resolution. The sanction that will follow for Manchester City's breaches remains to be decided.
Key points
- Manchester City found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules over nine seasons.
- The club arranged 'sham' contracts and misrepresented its finances to regulators.
- The Premier League will now determine the sanction for Manchester City's breaches.
