Manchester City's "irrefutable evidence" has been leaked as they prepare for their appeal after the Premier League's guilty verdict
Manchester City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak holds the Champions League trophy.
Manchester City's appeal has been leaked(Image: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)
Manchester City's defence for their appeal against the Premier League's guilty verdict has been leaked. City were found guilty of 114 out of 115 breaches of the Premier League's financial rules on Tuesday afternoon - but the club have denied all wrongdoing.
City have until Friday to (October 2) lodge their appeal - and a report now suggests City’s argument is that the money were actually paid by the government, which owns the sponsors, rather than the club’s owners Abu Dhabi United Group - meaning no rules were broken.
According to the Daily Mail, City's "irrefutable evidence" is bank statements and witness accounts that prove the sponsorship deals are from government-funded companies.
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The report adds that City will argue the case comes down to down to one question: did the money come from the sponsors, the sponsors’ owners (the Abu Dhabi government) or the club’s owners?
City have always argued it was the government, instead of their owners, that make up in the difference and are expected to reinforce the point that the leaked emails represent false assumptions made by Manchester-based staff.
However, this argument was rejected by the independent commission who found the explanation was "concocted well after the event in an attempt to obscure and conceal the realities of the disguised funding scheme".
Etihad, City's main sponsors, have already released a statement rejecting any improper commercial arrangements and threatening legal action against the Premier League.
The report also adds City are likely to argue the notion that Sheikh Mansour was unaware of around £830m of his money being used is implausible - after the panel appeared to concluded Mansour was unaware of the "sham" deals, although his name was redacted.
City also claim that "sham" is a legal term and, in this case, has been misused. The Premier League said City had "arranged sham contracts" - which misrepresented the true agreement between the parties.
And a number of its commercial partners, as well as relying on "sham" agreements with others, to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs over a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018.
A statement said: "The club filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators."
They added throughout the investigation City "committed multiple breaches of its duties of co-operation and utmost good faith towards the league".
Premier League CEO Richard Masters added "the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade" and the verdict "vindicates the Premier League’s decision to pursue this case against Manchester City".
City said they were "disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission" and they will be "relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums".