Man City held secret settlement talks with Premier League before guilty verdict, report claims

Manchester City held settlement talks with the Premier League ahead of last month’s guilty verdict, according to a Bloomberg report, with the discussions breaking down after the club refused to concede any wrongdoing.

The report claims the two parties explored an early-stage financial settlement that would have resulted in a substantial payment from City rather than the stripping of titles or relegation. However, the sheer volume of charges meant any deal would only have reduced the scope of the case rather than resolved it entirely, and City’s insistence on their innocence brought negotiations to a swift end.

Any agreement would also have faced fierce opposition from Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United — clubs that missed out on league titles during City’s dominant run of silverware — though it is worth noting that a settlement would not have constituted an admission of guilt.

The independent commission ultimately found City guilty of all but one of the charges brought against them, ruling that the club had “clearly intended to circumvent Premier League rules” across a nine-season spell. The commission determined that City participated in a scheme worth close to £1 billion, designed to artificially inflate revenues or reduce costs through a series of “sham” arrangements in order to sidestep both Premier League and UEFA financial regulations.

Specifically, the commission found that companies from Abu Dhabi paid only a fraction of the amounts recorded in City’s accounts, with the remainder covered by Abu Dhabi United Group — the vehicle through which Sheikh Mansour controls the club. The scheme was found to have artificially inflated revenue by more than £830 million across the nine seasons under scrutiny.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the ruling as “the most significant in Premier League history”. The league’s investigation began in 2018, with over 100 charges formally brought against City in February 2023. The commission examined the case between September and December 2024.

City swiftly announced their intention to appeal, stating the verdict “contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe”. Chief executive Ferran Soriano told staff in a video call that the commission had accepted the Premier League’s “conspiracy theory”.

The same commission that delivered the guilty verdict will now determine what sanctions should be imposed, with the full range of potential punishments — including points deductions, fines, or relegation — still on the table.