The Premier League has officially confirmed that an independent Commission found Manchester City guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the league’s financial rules over a nine-season period, along with the majority of charges tied to the club’s failure to cooperate with the investigation. Manchester City has strongly denied the findings and is expected to appeal immediately.
What the Commission Found
According to Tuesday’s official Premier League statement, the independent Commission’s findings cover the 2009/10 through 2017/18 seasons. The Commission determined that Manchester City:
- Arranged “sham” contracts with a number of commercial partners, and relied on other sham agreements, that misrepresented the true nature of the deals in order to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs
- Filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators
- Was significantly in breach of both Premier League and UEFA spending limits
- Committed multiple breaches of its duties of cooperation and utmost good faith during the Premier League’s investigation, with three of four alleged breaches upheld
The Premier League said the Commission found these schemes were designed to inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs by more than £900 million during the affected period, allowing City to appear compliant with financial regulations it was, in fact, violating.
The Disguised Funding Scheme
Central to the Commission’s findings was what the Premier League described as a disguised funding scheme involving City’s sponsors. “The independent Commission found that Manchester City arranged ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors during the period, which were part of a disguised funding scheme, whereby those companies were only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees,” the league’s statement said. “The remainder was funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.”
The Commission concluded that “by its conduct the club clearly intended to circumvent the PL Rules.”
The Premier League’s Response
Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters called the ruling one of the most significant in the league’s history: “The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade.” He added: “This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history.”
The Commission also found that City had made “concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the PL investigation” over the four years it took to complete.
Manchester City’s Response
City has firmly rejected the findings and signaled its intent to fight the decision through every available channel. In its own statement, the club said: “Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission, that has been published today. 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. The Club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.”
The club added that it considers the process incomplete: “The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements uncompleted. Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.”
What Happens Next
Manchester City has the right to appeal the Commission’s findings and has until Friday, October 2, 2026, to do so. The Premier League Board has said it intends for the full process — including any appeals and the eventual publication of relevant decisions — to conclude as soon as possible.
Sanctions have not yet been determined. Under Premier League rules, possible penalties range from fines and points deductions to more severe measures, up to and including expulsion from the competition. Manchester City has consistently denied wrongdoing throughout the long-running case and is expected to challenge the verdict through the appeals process.
