Manchester City's owner Sheikh Mansour
Manchester City's owner Sheikh Mansour
The verdict of the Premier League’s investigation into Man City’s 115 charges is imminent. This is a breakdown of the infamous charges, who is responsible and how does this affect Liverpool Football Club.
Suspicion from the Beginning
Long before Man City’s 115 charges were brought to light, there have been suspicions of financial wrongdoing.
Slot on recent defeats and bouncing back
Slot on recent defeats and bouncing back
Arne Slot, Liverpool manager, reflected on the Reds' recent defeats.
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Ever since the club’s acquisition by Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) in 2008, the club’s spending has grown exponentially.
How was a club able to go from a Premier League-Championship level team, to one of the best squads in Europe. The answer is major financial funding from allegedly ‘questionable’ sources.
First we must breakdown the charges raised against them.
The infamous 115
(Photo credit should read ANDREW YATES/AFP via Getty Images)
The staggering 115 charges labelled against Man City is an unprecedented level of ‘alleged’ corruption and wrongdoing.
No other club in history has had such large accusation made against them by a Governing League body.
Man City find themselves on the defensive on many fronts. Some of the most pressing charges include:
Inflating Sponsorship Deals: Alleged to have inflated sponsorship deals to meet Financial Fair Play regulations. Specifically with companies linked to their owners.
Failure to Provide Accurate Financial Information: Accused of misreporting financial data, including revenue and expenditure
Failure to Cooperate with the Premier League’s Financial Monitoring Panel: Alleged non-compliance in relation to the Premier League’s requests for open and transparent financial records
Improper Related Party Transactions: Accused of dealing with companies that have close ties to the club’s ownership, potentially inflating financial figures and exceeding natural market valuations
Most Pernicious ‘Alleged’ Charge: Sheikh Mansour and Etihad ties
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Sultan Al Nahyan is the owner of ADUG and subsequently Manchester City. Along with being involved in the world of Football, he is current Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which include Abu Dhabi.
Etihad Airways, one of Manchester City’s largest sponsors is owned by the Abu Dhabi Government.
Our first ‘coincidence’.
Financial Fair Play
Financial Fair Play regulations were designed to ensure clubs don’t spend more than they earn. This aimed for financial stability and a level playing field. These regulations actively prevented Sheikh Mansour from investing more than what Man City could earn.
In 2007, a year prior to Mansour’s takeover, Man City were a small club. They were £147 million in debt and only registering an annual earning of £82.3 million. Fast-forward to 2024 where Man City earned a record £715 million in revenue.
The ‘alleged’ violation of a market value sponsorship with Etihad Airways stems from this initial investment roadblock.
Just another Coincidence
An excellent article written by Daniel Taylor of the Guardian way back in 2011 details this ‘Record Breaking’ Sponsorship agreement. A quote from the article:
‘Manchester City will bank up to £400m under their new sponsorship arrangement with Etihad Airways, making it the largest deal of its kind in sport and reinforcing City’s position as a football club with unprecedented financial power.’
How close Sheikh Mansour is to Etihad Airways is unclear. What is clear is that Etihad Airways, an Abu Dhabi Government owned company chose to sponsor Man City, an average club at the time.
Then pay a ‘record breaking’ fee in order to obtain shirt and stadium sponsorship rights for a team that had coincidentally just been bought by Abu Dhabi United Group 3 years prior.
Nothing strange to see here folks.
Previous Precedent
Man City's 115 charges UEFAMan City's 115 charges UEFA
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin (Photo by PREDRAG MILOSAVLJEVIC/AFP via Getty Images)
Unsurprisingly this isn’t Manchester City’s first legal case on such matters
In 2018 UEFA led an investigation into Man City’s financial dealings, particularly focusing on the club’s sponsorship arrangements.
The investigation concluded that Manchester City had overstated its sponsorship revenues to comply with FFP rules.
In February 2020, UEFA ruled that Manchester City had breached FFP regulations. They imposed a two-year ban on the club from participating in European competitions and ordered to pay a fine of €30 million.
Manchester City strongly denied the charges and appealed UEFA’s decision through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The case claimed the ruling was unfair and that they had not violated FFP rules.
In July 2020, CAS issued its verdict, in which they overturned UEFA’s decision.
The court found that despite Manchester City having committed “serious breaches” of FFP rules, the violations were deemed ‘not intentional’ and did not justify the two-year ban.
Headline from ESPN: ‘Manchester City escape Champions League ban after CAS appeal’
Possible Outcomes of Guilty Verdict
How would the Premier League sanction a major club like Manchester City. The means of sanction listed in order of severity include:
Financial Fines:
Transfer Ban:
Points Deduction:
Exclusion from European Competition:
Relegation:
Stripping of Titles:
The top four listed are possible outcomes if a guilty verdict is given. The last two are unlikely as they would be deemed ‘too severe’. They would be appealed through Manchester City’s excellent and certainly well-paid Legal Team.
Outcome for Liverpool
Man City vs Liverpool
(Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
If Man City’s 115 charges are proven, the entire Liverpool Institution from fans to the highest members of the Board will have major grievances.
Fan Position
Fans would certainly push for the Stripping of Titles and other major repercussions. If proven guilty, Liverpool and the fans have potentially missed out on 3 Premier League Titles finishing behind City by 1 point on two occasions in 2018/19 and 2021/22 and under Brendan Rodgers by 2 points in 2013/14
It doesn’t need to be said how much the Premier League means to the fans. One thing that can never be taken away from Liverpool, is that the titles were won fairly.
Major outrage and demands of serious punishment are very likely outcomes from the fan perspective
FSG Portfolio
This is where things get interesting. Liverpool’s American owners would argue that their Sporting Portfolio was actively damaged by the fraudulent actions of another competitor.
It is clear to see how Liverpool could potentially be a far more valuable asset if Manchester City didn’t existed or simply remained what they were. A below average Premier League side.
A potential three additional Premier League wins and numerous times when the club missed out on Champions League Football which resulted in financial repercussions.
FSG wouldn’t be against their rights to pursue a legal case in which Financial Reparations would have to be paid for the damage done to Liverpool’s potential valuation.
‘Can of Worms’ Premier League doesn’t want to touch
Unfortunately the most likely reason that Man City’s 115 charges will be without punishment, even if there is evidence of wrongdoing, is the Premier League itself.
Damned if you do
By admitting that Manchester City are guilty, the Premier League would open a door that can never be closed again.
Every single club that has gone through difficulty since the 2008 takeover would argue that they have suffered financially as a result of Manchester City’s non-compliance.
This would involve potential decade long legal battles, accusations and an overall tarnishing of the leagues reputation. The legitimacy of the entire League would be called into question.
Damned if you don’t
To rule that Manchester City are innocent, despite evidence of the contrary, would significantly undermine the Premier League’s authority and future ability to enforce FFP regulations.
Witnessing Manchester City avoid punishment would embolden other clubs and international investors that they too can play with the rules as they see fit.
Uncertain Future for the Premier League
How the Premier League responds to this scandal will determine the future of Football in this country.
An ideal scenario is ultimately that justice is served. At this moment in time, Manchester City is yet to be proven guilty.
If proven, Manchester City must be punished.
Fines, Points Deductions and Transfer Bans would serve that purpose without destroying a Premier League club that ultimately generates revenue for the league.
If ‘innocent’, it would be fascinating to see how the Premier League as a governing body would deter and sanction future transgressions of other clubs.
Whatever the verdict, it is sure to affect the very fabric of Football in England for decades to come.