Premier League confirms Man City guilty of all financial breach charges

The English Premier League (EPL) has confirmed that an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of all charges related to breaching the league’s financial rules.

The EPL confirmed the ruling in a statement released on Tuesday, adding that the Cityzens were found guilty of serious breaches of its financial rules over a nine-season period, with the majority of charges relating to failure to cooperate with investigations.

“An independent Commission has found Manchester City FC guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation,” the statement reads in part.

TheCable had reported that Man City was found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges in a case that became public in 2023, with sanctions yet to be decided.

The EPL listed the independent commission’s findings on Man City’s financial dealings from the 2009/10 to 2017/18 season, including the arrangement of sham contracts with commercial partners that inflated club revenue and reduced costs.

Other findings include concealment of the club’s true financial status, breached spending limits locally and on the continent, and a “failure to cooperate with the league’s investigations in good faith”.

According to the independent commission, Man City engaged in a disguised funding scheme with partners who paid a fraction of announced sponsorship deals, with the majority of the funds provided by the Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), the club’s owners.

The EPL added that ADUG also employed a third party to purchase players’ image rights, all in a bid to make more funds available to the club without strict adherence to EPL rules.

“The purpose of these schemes was found to have been to artificially inflate the club’s revenues, and reduce its costs, by more than £900 million during the affected period, to appear to comply with financial rules,” it wrote.

“The consequence of this, as the Commission found, was that the club filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators. The Commission concluded that ‘by its conduct the club clearly intended to circumvent the PL Rules‘.

Richard Masters, EPL chief executive, said the guilty outcome vindicates the league’s decision to continue with the case despite enormous pressure.

He added that the league will continue to hold clubs to account, and ensure a fair competition while it awaits the commission’s decision.

“This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history. There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches,” he said.

“Now we have the Commission’s decision, we are committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process, to provide certainty for the League, our clubs and fans.”

Man City, who have signified it will appeal the decision, has until October 2 to exercise its right, as the EPL seeks a conclusion “as soon as possible”.

Since a 2008 takeover from Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, vice-president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, City have become the Premier League’s dominant force.

They have won eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups and seven League Cups over the past 15 years and also won the Champions League for the first time in 2023.