The British government could reportedly force Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour to sell the club amid the prospect of new sanctions against him. With the Premier League giants still under investigation over 115 alleged financial fair play breaches, the Cityzens could face a major setback if the club were to change hands before a verdict is reached.
Since taking over in 2008, Mansour has transformed Man City beyond recognition. The pre-takeover era now feels like a distant memory, with the blue half of Manchester going on to win eight Premier League titles, the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup, three FA Cups and seven League Cups - more than doubling the club’s previous haul of major honours following the UAE government-backed takeover.
It is fair to say City have enjoyed a golden era, with their dominance of English football under Pep Guardiola bordering on unprecedented. But while the club continues to fight its case against the Premier League, its owners also remain embroiled in an ongoing battle with human rights organisations that could land the sucker punch instead.
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Why Sheikh Mansour could be Forced to Sell Man City
Sheikh Mansour and Khaldoon Al Mubarak
The Athletic report comes amidst calls from human rights organisation FairSquare on the UK government to consider sanctions against Mansour. The non-profit organisation has argued that: “If the UK government is serious about disrupting this horrendous conflict”, then Sheikh Mansour provides “a very obvious point of leverage."
Man City's owner is also deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, a nation that has been accused of alleged support for "a paramilitary group accused of committing war crimes in Sudan," as Athletic reporter Jacob Whitehead wrote on X (see the full post below):
"150,000 have been killed in Sudan over the past two years. Calls are increasing to sanction MCFC owner & UAE deputy PM Sheikh Mansour over the UAE's alleged funding of the war. UK government action would force a sale."
The UAE have been accused of arming paramilitary force the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), one of the groups deeply involved within the Sudanese civil war. The Middle Eastern country have always denied any connection or support with either side within the conflict, but conversations around what should happen to Mansour have been prominent in British politics over recent years.
The Situation Could Unfold Similarly to Chelsea' Roman Abramovich Exit
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The sanctions available to the British government include a range of measures designed to place pressure on a target state, including asset freezes and bans on transactions with UK businesses. The clearest recent example is the sanctions imposed on then-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in 2022 over his alleged links to the Kremlin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Although Abramovich consistently denied the allegations, he was ultimately forced to sell his stake in the Stamford Bridge club. Under current Premier League rules, any sanction imposed on Mansour would place the Manchester City owner in breach of the division’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test.
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The regulations prohibit individuals from owning clubs if they have unspent criminal convictions, have breached football betting laws, been subject to insolvency proceedings, or are under government sanctions - the same rule that ultimately forced Abramovich to sell Chelsea. The domino effect of that has seen the Blues be taken over by a reckless Clearlake regime and struggle to compete as high as they used to, which could see the same happen to City.