Manchester City has officially been found guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules following a long-running investigation
A corner flag is visible at the City of Manchester Stadium during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Sunderland in Manchester, on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The Premier League has released an official statement as Man City found guilty on majority of charges(Image: Getty Images)
The Premier League has released an official statement confirming Manchester City has been found guilty of the majority of the 115 charges lodged against it for breaching financial rules.
Reports of the verdict initially emerged on Friday through the media, with the 12-week hearing having taken place all the way back in September 2024. A little over two years later, the case appears to be closing in on a conclusion.
The Premier League has now confirmed the verdict with a statement released on Tuesday afternoon. "An independent Commission has found Manchester City FC guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation," it reads.
It goes on to say the commission found City to have arranged what it describes as 'sham' contracts, which misrepresented the true agreement between two parties, with a number of its commercial partners to, as the Premier League states, 'artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs'.
The commission also determined that City misstated its accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from both its auditors and football regulators. It adds that the club, between the seasons of 2009/10 and 2017/18, was 'significantly' in breach of both the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits.
The statement rounds off the findings by saying that, throughout the investigation, City committed multiple breaches of its duties of co-operation. It adds that three of the four alleged breaches on that count were upheld by the commission.
"The independent Commission found that Manchester City arranged ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors during the period, which were part of a disguised funding scheme, whereby those companies were only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees," the statement continues.
"The remainder was funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club. As part of the scheme, further ‘sham’ arrangements, funded by ADUG, were entered into to enable the club to record lower operating expenses than it actually incurred, as well as a ‘sham’ circular arrangement with Fordham, an entity that purchased the club’s players’ image rights, that was funded by ADUG."
A general exterior view of Etihad Stadium, home stadium of Manchester City ahead of the Premier League 2026/27 match between Manchester City and Coventry City
Manchester City was reportedly found guilty of the Premier League charges(Image: (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images))
The Premier League states that the purpose of those schemes was to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs by a staggering £900 million ($1.189 billion) during the listed period. The commission concluded that ‘by its conduct the club clearly intended to circumvent the PL Rules‘.
Richard Masters, Chief Executive of the Premier League, said: "The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade.
"It also vindicates the Premier League’s decision to pursue this case against Manchester City. While the process to date has been both long and difficult, the League has remained determined that the facts be established independently.
"It is a key responsibility of the Premier League to ensure that the Rules, approved by the clubs themselves, are upheld to protect the integrity of the competition. It is paramount that the League remains competitive and fair for all clubs and for the fans. We take that role extremely seriously.
"This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history. There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches. Now we have the Commission’s decision, we are committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process, to provide certainty for the League, our clubs and fans.”
The statement confirms that, now the charges have been proved, the sanctions will be addressed separately in a further hearing with the independent commission. It adds that, in accordance with Premier League rules, the hearing will remain private and confidential until publication of the outcome is permitted.
City has a right to an appeal and has until October 2 to exercise it. The Premier League intends for the full process, including any appeals, to be concluded as soon as possible.