Manchester City Found Guilty of Financial Breaches, Vows Appeal

An independent Premier League commission has ruled that Manchester City committed most of the 115 alleged financial rule violations spanning nine seasons, from 2009-10 through 2017-18, and the club confirmed on 30 September that it plans to challenge the ruling before the 2 October cutoff.¹²⁵

The verdict

According to the commission's findings, Manchester City arranged sham contracts with commercial partners to disguise more than £830m in secret funding, and the club was found guilty of all charges relating to financial rule breaches across the nine seasons under scrutiny. It was also found guilty of all but one charge concerning failure to cooperate with the Premier League's investigation.¹

Media reports, including one from The Athletic, put the figure at 114 of the 115 charges being proven, a finding also cited by Reuters. No sanction has yet been approved; that issue is to be addressed at a further, separate hearing, and the Premier League has said it wants the full process, including any appeals, to conclude as soon as possible.³⁵⁶

According to the Guardian, the verdict first emerged on Friday but has not been confirmed publicly by either the club or the Premier League, with club executives said to have received a broad outline of the commission's findings the previous Thursday. The Guardian also reported that other Premier League clubs still lack clarity about specifics of the case and when it will be resolved, and are urging that the verdict be made public.²

Club response

Ferran Soriano, the club's chief executive, informed employees and squad members that the commission had disregarded evidence he considered indisputable. In a message to club employees, he said: "Our lawyers will now file an appeal that sets out that the opinion contains clear material errors of law, principle and fact and is unsafe."¹⁵

Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak wrote to supporters pledging to clear the club's name, saying: "Our confidence and intent in proving the club's innocence is just as strong as when this began." A club spokesperson added: "The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality."³⁴

Addressing the European Football Clubs board, Soriano said the process could take years, a point echoed by a Reuters source who said the "procedure would take years before reaching an end." Soriano also said the club would take "all necessary action to protect the club and seek compensation from any party that tries to damage it now, and in the future."⁴⁶⁷

Reaction across football

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards said he was devastated by the verdict. According to the BBC, a lifelong City supporter, part of a family that has followed the club for around 60 years, rang Richards in tears after the findings emerged. Jamie Carragher, the former Liverpool defender, said City's titles should be taken from them.¹

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane said he would put City's medals "in the bin" after what he called "cheating". Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the verdict could lead to Premier League expulsion. La Liga president Javier Tebas said: "To have been breaking the rules for more than 10 years, however minor the breaches may have been, is very serious," adding that the case could mark "a before-and-after moment".⁵³

Pundit Tony Pulis said he did not believe other trophies would be handed back but expected "a points deduction and a massive fine", adding: "I still feel cheated." Former City manager Mauricio Pochettino said any punishment could not undo the damage already done. David Bernstein, a former Football Association chairman, said the credibility of the league itself was at stake.³⁷

What comes next

The financial misconduct allegations against Manchester City were first made eight years ago, and the club was formally charged by the Premier League in February 2023, when it said it was "surprised by the issuing of these alleged breaches of the Premier League Rules." Manchester City must submit its appeal by 2 October.²⁴¹⁵

Al Jazeera noted that Everton and Nottingham Forest each lost points last season, 2023-24, over individual rule violations, and suggested City would likely be relegated if convicted on more than 100 counts, although no penalty has been determined yet. The European Football Clubs General Assembly, bringing together 500 of its 850 members, convened in Copenhagen as the case unfolded.³⁶