An independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of every charge of serious financial breaches. It also upheld most of the charges that the club failed to co-operate with the Premier League’s investigation. The league published the findings on Tuesday.
The commission ruled that City broke the rules over nine seasons, from 2009/10 to 2017/18. It found the club arranged “sham” contracts with commercial partners to inflate revenues and cut costs artificially.
Under the scheme, some sponsors paid only part of their fees. Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club, covered the rest.
ADUG also funded further sham arrangements that let City report lower operating costs than it actually spent. It also funded a circular deal with Fordham, an entity that bought the players’ image rights.
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The commission said the schemes inflated revenues and reduced costs by more than £900 million. City then filed misstated accounts and hid the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators.
The commission concluded the club “clearly intended to circumvent” the rules. It added that accurate accounts would have shown City well over both the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits.
The commission also found that City obstructed the four-year investigation. It upheld three of four alleged breaches of the duty to co-operate and said the club “made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate” the inquiry.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the decision establishes what happened at City. “It details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade,” he said. He called the case the most significant in the league’s history and said the ruling vindicates the decision to pursue it.
City rejected the findings within hours. The club said it was “disappointed and surprised” and insisted it is innocent.
It claimed “a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” supports its position and promised to be “relentless” in every regulatory and legal forum.
City said it will appeal, arguing the opinion contains “clear material errors, of law, principle and fact” and is “unsafe.” The club also accused the league’s Board and Executive of failing to act as an independent, impartial regulator. It said it had respected due process for eight years on the assumption they would. It added that it cannot say more until all proceedings end.
The Premier League opened its investigation in December 2018 and issued a formal complaint in February 2023. The commission held a 42-day hearing that ended in December 2024. It later apologised for taking so long to deliver its decision, citing roughly 7,000 pages of witness transcripts and detailed written submissions.
Sanctions remain undecided. The commission will hold a separate, private hearing on punishment. Its powers include fines, points deductions and other sporting sanctions. The league has published only a redacted version of the core decision and says it will release the full award when its rules allow.
City have until Friday, October 2, to appeal. A three-member Appeal Board, chaired by someone who has held judicial office, would hear the challenge. It can allow the appeal, dismiss it or vary the commission’s order. The league says it wants the whole process, including appeals, finished as soon as possible.
