Man City found guilty of 114 breaches as UEFA monitors for second sanction

Manchester City have been found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules, with an independent panel ruling that the club used ‘sham’ sponsorship deals to artificially inflate their revenue between 2009 and 2018 — a finding City strongly deny. The club have since submitted an appeal, with a new three-person panel set to hear the evidence.

Should the appeal fail and the guilty verdict stands, City face a range of potential sanctions including fines, points deductions, transfer bans, or relegation from the Premier League.

Adding further pressure, UEFA are reportedly monitoring the situation closely and may weigh up whether to intervene once a definitive outcome has been reached. The governing body previously handed City a two-year ban from European football in 2020 for breaching financial fair play regulations, a punishment the club successfully overturned at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Notably, the Premier League is said to have had access to documents and evidence that were unavailable to UEFA when they built their original case five years ago.

Former City manager Pep Guardiola, who left the club at the end of last season, made his first return to the Etihad Stadium for the Champions League fixture against Paris Saint-Germain, offering a public show of solidarity with the club in the wake of the verdict. In a statement posted on social media, Guardiola wrote: “I want every single fan to know I am here; more than ever. I am, always have been, always will, be behind my club, my owner, my chairman, Ferran, the players, staff, Enzo and you, our unique supporters. Let me be clear: we will get through this together. I love you all.”

Internally, City’s players have been given assurances by the club that ‘sporting justice’ will prevail, according to the representative of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

With the international break now over, City’s full squad returned to training as the club prepares for a Premier League trip to Anfield to face Liverpool — though the financial charges are likely to dominate the pre-match conversation.