Manchester City are set to challenge the Premier League's independent commission guilty verdict by arguing that sponsorship deals at the centre of the case were funded by the Abu Dhabi government rather than the club's owners, as per a new report.
Rayan Ait-Nouri could leave Manchester City in January amid loan interest from Juventus.More Videos
The independent commission's finding that Manchester City breached Premier League financial rules across a nine-season period from 2009/10 to 2017/18 has set in motion one of the most significant legal disputes in the history of English football.
The commission concluded that Manchester City arranged commercial sponsorship contracts under which partners paid only a fraction of the agreed fees, with the remainder covered by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd - the private company owned by Sheikh Mansour that controls the club.
The schemes were found to have artificially inflated the club's revenues and reduced reported costs by more than £900 million across the affected period.
City have rejected the commission's verdict, stating that they are "innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League" and possess "a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence" to support their position.
The club cited "clear material errors, of law, principle and fact" in the commission's opinion and pledged to pursue every available avenue of appeal.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the verdict as the most significant disciplinary decision in the competition's history, with the commission also finding the club guilty on the majority of charges relating to a failure to cooperate with the investigation.
Man City to Claim Abu Dhabi Government - Not ADUG - Provided Sponsorship Funding
As reported by Mail Sport, Manchester City intend to argue during their appeal that the government of Abu Dhabi - rather than Abu Dhabi United Group, the private entity owned by Sheikh Mansour - was the true source of the funding behind the sponsorship deals the commission has scrutinised.
The distinction is significant because Premier League rules regulate financial arrangements between a club and its owners; if the funding originated from a separate state entity rather than the club's controlling shareholder, Manchester City's position is that no rules were broken under the framework the commission applied.
Appeal, Sanctions, Anfield - What is Next for Man City?
The sanctions phase - which will determine any sporting or financial punishment - has not yet begun and represents a separate stage of proceedings.
Sources familiar with the case have indicated that full resolution, including the appeals process, may not arrive until 2028 or 2029.
City face an October 2 deadline to file their formal appeal before returning to Premier League action at Anfield against Liverpool on October 11, three days before Enzo Maresca's side host Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League at the Etihad Stadium.
Read the full insider report on Manchester City's plan to clear their name in the Premier League case by MailSport's Mike Keegan HERE.