Manchester City found guilty of majority of 115 Premier League financial charges

Manchester City have been found guilty of the majority of 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League, following a four-year investigation into alleged breaches of financial rules spanning nine seasons between 2009/10 and 2017/18. The verdict, confirmed by the Premier League in a lengthy official statement, found the club guilty of all charges related to serious financial rule breaches and the majority of charges relating to a failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.

The independent commission determined that City arranged so-called ‘sham’ contracts with a number of commercial partners, artificially inflating the club’s revenues and reducing its costs. The club also filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators, and was found to have been significantly in breach of both Premier League and UEFA spending limits during the period in question.

Central to the findings was a disguised funding scheme involving Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), the club’s owner. Under the scheme, commercial sponsors were only required to pay a portion of agreed sponsorship fees, with ADUG covertly funding the remainder. Further sham arrangements, also funded by ADUG, allowed the club to record lower operating expenses than it actually incurred. A circular arrangement with Fordham, an entity that purchased the club’s player image rights, was also found to have been funded by ADUG.

The commission additionally upheld three of four alleged breaches of City’s duties of co-operation and utmost good faith towards the League during the course of its investigation.

Sanctions have not yet been announced. Manchester City have until 2 October to lodge an appeal against the verdict.