Manchester City transfer payments examined amid European licence concerns

Manchester City’s transfer payments between 2009 and 2018 have come under renewed scrutiny after an independent commission found the club guilty of inflating its accounts, while senior figures in English and European football have expressed concern about City qualifying for next season’s Champions League, BBC reporting said on 7 October.¹²

Transfer routes

Manchester City spent about £1.2bn on players from 2009 to 2018, according to BBC Sport. Its reporting examined how money from those deals reached clubs beyond the immediate selling sides through sell-on arrangements. BBC Sport said City’s spending “unquestionably changed the world football transfer market”.²

Queens Park Rangers received roughly £9m when Raheem Sterling joined City from Liverpool in 2015. Barnsley took about £7m from the fee Everton received for John Stones in 2016, while Everton passed approximately £2.5m to Wolves after Joleon Lescott’s 2009 move to City.¹²

The BBC also reported that City paid similar overall sums to Benfica and Porto during the period. That assessment is based on a single source in the dossier, while the transfer-related payments to QPR, Barnsley and Wolves are confirmed by both BBC reports.¹²

Disciplinary process

An independent commission found Manchester City guilty of inflating its accounts, according to BBC Sport. A separate BBC report said City was found liable on every charge relating to breaches of Premier League financial rules over the 2009-10 through 2017-18 campaigns, though only one source supports that wider claim here.¹²

The hearing to determine punishment has not been scheduled, according to the BBC. If an appeal board upholds the verdict, potential sanctions could include substantial points deductions, a fine and transfer embargoes; immediate expulsion from the Premier League also remains an available option, BBC reported.¹

The Premier League introduced clauses during the summer establishing time limits for disciplinary cases and appeals. BBC reporting said that, if those provisions apply, a ruling on sanction would have to be made no later than January.¹

European participation

Senior figures in the English game and European football are concerned about the appearance of City receiving strong domestic sanctions while continuing in the Champions League, according to BBC reporting. One source told the BBC that City’s licence issue had been raised and that a resolution would require “the sort of joined up thinking”.¹

UEFA cannot intervene while the Premier League’s disciplinary process is under way, the BBC reported. The dossier says UEFA administrators and its club financial control body may discuss possible outcomes, and UEFA could consider a disciplinary case aimed at removing City’s eligibility.¹

Licences are based on current financial performance, leaving unclear grounds for refusal, according to a source cited by the BBC. BBC reporting said that should City lose their appeal but go on to lift the Champions League, the club financial control body would have to find a sanction that would bar them from the following season's tournament.¹

City previously overturned a two-year UEFA ban from European club competitions in 2020. According to the BBC, UEFA found City guilty of “serious breaches” of financial fair play regulations from 2012 to 2016, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport set aside the ban after finding that UEFA's time limit for pursuing the allegations had passed.¹