MLS commissioner Don Garber has confirmed the league will not investigate New York City FC, Manchester City’s sister club within the City Football Group, as a result of the Premier League’s guilty verdict.
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Many of the biggest questions currently hanging over Manchester City’s ongoing legal case involving the Premier League concern how far its consequences might travel even after sporting sanctions are handed out.
As some have suggested, that may not start and end in Greater Manchester and at the Etihad Stadium, with City sitting at the head of a global network of clubs, and the ruling against them always likely to provoke scrutiny of the wider empire.
Over in the United States and Major League Soccer, at least, the current indications are that the North American outpost of the City Football Group is in the clear.
Don Garber draws clear line amid NYCFC questions
Now, Don Garber - the long-serving commissioner of Major League Soccer - used an appearance at Front Office Sports’ Tuned In summit to address the aforementioned matter directly.
Garber has clarified that New York City FC - owned by the same group as Manchester City - is not under investigation.
“MLS is looking at how owners act in accordance with our rules here in Major League Soccer," said Garber.
"I will say that what NYCFC has done through their own ownership, the City Football Group and investing in our league, building a great team in NYCFC, building an MLS Next Pro stadium in New Jersey, and obviously their stadium that will open up in Queens is something we’re thankful for and appreciative of.
“But we’re not in the business of looking at what our team owners do in other leagues. The concept of multiple team ownership is something that we all live through, manage through, and we have our own governance as it relates to what their behaviour is.”
To illustrate the point, Don Garber used Kroenke Sports & Entertainment - which owns both Arsenal and the Colorado Rapids - as an example of the multi-club model now common across the game.
He continued, “We’re fortunate we have owners in our league that own multiple teams throughout every league. We have Stan Kroenke owning Arsenal (and Colorado Rapids), and we have owners that own teams in Spain, in Italy, throughout the rest of the world.”
Crucially, there have been no allegations of wrongdoing against New York City FC themselves. The 2021 MLS Cup winners have continued to invest in the American game, Garber noted, with commitments including a long-awaited stadium in Queens.
What connects Man City and New York City FC?
One can understand why the question was asked, given how closely the two clubs are bound together as both sit under the City Football Group umbrella - the multi-club operation ultimately majority-owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
There are also key people with direct responsibilities in each club, as Khaldoon Al Mubarak is chairman of both Manchester City and the City Football Group, while Ferran Soriano holds the club Chief Executive Officer position in both Manchester and New York.
Etihad Airways sponsors both sides and holds the naming rights to both stadiums, with Etihad Park - New York City FC’s aforementioned new home - due to open in the summer of 2027.
Even the New York-based club’s chief financial officer, Andrew Widdowson, spent more than a decade in Manchester City’s finance department before his move across the Atlantic.
What it all means for Manchester City
Manchester City, of course, continue to deny any wrongdoing in their appeal against the Premier League's recent ruling confirmed over the international break, and the club are expected to fight the decision as far as required.
The case is still to be heard in full and sanctions are not yet decided, while Don Garber’s comments do not change any of that, except perhaps as an early indicator that the fallout across City Football Group’s overseas clubs may not be as damaging as some anticipated.