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The Premier League has found Manchester City guilty of almost all of the 115 charges of breaching its financial rules in a damning verdict presented by the top flight of football in England.
The league said City broke its rules from 2009 to 2018, including by using “sham” commercial contracts “to artificially inflate the club’s revenues, and reduce its costs, by more than 900 million pounds [$1.2bn]” of secret funding from its Abu Dhabi-based owners.
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It added that the commission had found City used schemes during the affected period to appear to comply with financial rules.
“This disciplinary case and this decision are the most significant in Premier League history,” said Richard Masters, the league’s chief executive.
City, current Premier League leaders, could face punishments ranging from a fine to expulsion. The club denies wrongdoing and says it will appeal the verdict.
Here’s what we know about the charges, the verdict and possible sanctions:
What was the Premier League’s verdict on Man City’s rule breach?
Guilty on every count barring one, which was a specific failure to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation during a portion of the proceedings. City cooperated and were found guilty.
The Premier League’s independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of financial rules across nine seasons, from 2009-10 to 2017-18.
League boss Masters said the ruling showed City “systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade”.
City, which denies any wrongdoing, said it was “disappointed and surprised” by the commission’s opinion.
“The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case,” it said.
City CEO Ferran Soriano called the verdict “a single false accusation” and a “Premier League conspiracy theory”.
What are the ‘sham’ contracts?
Sponsorship deals that hid where City’s money came from.
The commission found City arranged sham commercial deals with several sponsors, who only had to pay part of the relevant sponsorship fees, as part of a “disguised funding scheme”, the league said.
The remainder was funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
ADUG further funded a “sham” arrangement that enabled the club to show lower operating expenses than those it actually incurred, as well as a “sham” circular arrangement with Fordham, an entity that acquired the club’s players’ image rights, which was funded by ADUG.
As a result, the club filed misstated accounts and hid its true finances from auditors and regulators. “By its conduct, the club clearly intended to circumvent” the rules, the commission said.
What’s the 900-million-pound figure?
It is the total by which City’s schemes distorted its accounts.
The arrangements inflated revenue and reduced costs by more than 900 million pounds over the nine seasons, so the club appeared to comply with financial rules, the league said.
Of that, more than 830 million pounds ($1.1bn) was secret funding from City’s Abu Dhabi owners disguised as sponsorship.
Had City reported accurately, they would have broken spending limits “by a very substantial amount”, the commission found.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola celebrates with the trophy, players and staff after winning the Premier League title [File: Carl Recine/Action Images via Reuters]What sanctions could Man City face?
Anything from a fine to expulsion.
Under Rule W64 of the Premier League handbook, the commission can fine a club, deduct points or expel it from the league. A clause allowing it to “make such other order as it thinks fit” also leaves stripping titles open in theory.
The same commission will set the sanction at a separate, private hearing.
When will Man City’s appeal be heard?
No date has been set.
City, which called the findings “unsafe” and pledged to be “relentless” in clearing its name, must appeal by Friday. A new three-person panel will hear it.
City cannot go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but could challenge the process’s fairness in England’s High Court, according to British media reports.
The timing of any punishment is also contentious.
If sanctions are applied before the appeal is heard, City could be relegated only to have the verdict overturned later.
But if City are not punished until after the appeal, they could keep their points this season, costing rivals their Premier League status or a place in European competition.
What has happened to other clubs breaching Premier League rules?
Points deductions for far smaller breaches.
Everton were docked a record 10 points in 2023, later cut to six, for overspending in a single three-year period.
Nottingham Forest lost four points that season.
This year, Everton were ordered to pay Burnley more than 35 million pounds ($47m) after the latter argued it would have survived relegation in 2021-22 had Everton been punished that season.
UEFA banned City from European competitions in 2020, but CAS overturned the ban and fined City 10 million euros ($11.3m) for failing to cooperate.
How many points could Man City lose?
There is no set tariff.
City’s breaches span nine seasons and include noncooperation, making the case far wider than Everton’s.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has said sanctions should “add a zero to what we’ve seen in terms of Forest and Everton”, suggesting 40 to 60 points, a US media outlet reported.
The outlet calculated that even 40 points would have left City 18th last season.
What could other Premier League clubs gain?
Money is more likely than silverware.
City won their first trophy in 35 years, the 2011 FA Cup, and their first Premier League title in 2012, during the period covered by the charges.
Tony Pulis, whose Stoke side lost that FA Cup final, told the BBC he did not expect trophies to change hands. “But I still feel cheated,” he said.
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland celebrates [File: Dave Thompson/AP Photo]Could Man City lose Haaland, Cherki, Fernandez, Ndiaye, Doku?
Possibly, if City are relegated.
This month, City completed the biggest spend in a single transfer window, about 460 million pounds ($610m), including Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez for $169m.
Norway striker Erling Haaland signed a nine-year contract in 2025.
It is unclear whether he or others, including Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku and Iliman Ndiaye, have exit clauses tied to heavy sanctions.
So far, the case has done little to stop City from attracting and keeping top players.
