Premier League Official Statement: Independent Commission Finds Manchester City Guilty of Serious Financial Rule Breaches

The Premier League has announced that an independent commission has found all charges against Manchester City relating to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period proven, while the majority of the charges relating to the club’s cooperation with the Premier League’s investigation were also found to be proven

The independent commission found that, between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons, Manchester City entered into “sham” contracts with several commercial partners. These agreements misrepresented the true arrangements between the parties and, through further “sham” agreements with other parties, artificially inflated the club’s revenues and reduced its costs.

The club was found to have submitted false financial accounts and concealed its true financial position from its auditors and football regulatory authorities.

Manchester City was also found to have seriously breached both the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits.

During the Premier League’s investigation, Manchester City repeatedly breached its obligations to cooperate with the league and its duties of utmost good faith. Three of the four alleged breaches were found proven.

The independent commission found that Manchester City had arranged “sham” commercial transactions with several sponsors during the period in question. These transactions formed part of a concealed funding scheme, under which the relevant companies paid only part of the agreed sponsorship amounts, while the remainder was funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Limited (ADUG), the owner of Manchester City.

As part of the scheme, further “sham” arrangements funded by ADUG were also put in place, allowing the club to record lower operating costs than it had actually incurred. There was also a “sham” circular arrangement involving Fordham, an entity that purchased the image rights of Manchester City players, with the funding again provided by ADUG.

The commission concluded that the purpose of these arrangements was to artificially increase Manchester City’s reported revenues and reduce its costs by more than £900 million during the relevant period, thereby making the club appear compliant with the applicable financial regulations.

The commission found that the consequence was that Manchester City submitted false accounts and concealed its true financial position from its auditors and football regulatory authorities.

The commission concluded:“It is clear from its conduct that the Club plainly intended to circumvent the Premier League Rules.”As a result, Manchester City failed to accurately report its revenues and expenditure under the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules and UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations.

The commission determined that, had all relevant agreements been accurately reported in the club’s accounts, Manchester City would have significantly exceeded the spending limits imposed by both the Premier League and UEFA.

In addition, during the Premier League’s four-year investigation, the club repeatedly breached its obligations to cooperate with the league and its duties of utmost good faith.

The commission concluded that Manchester City had:“engaged in coordinated action to prevent and obstruct the Premier League’s investigation.”

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said:“The core findings establish the truth of what happened at Manchester City during this period. They set out in detail how the club systematically breached Premier League rules over nearly a decade.”

“They also vindicate the Premier League’s decision to bring this case against Manchester City. Although the process to date has been lengthy and challenging, the league has remained steadfast in its determination to establish the facts independently.”

“A key responsibility of the Premier League is to ensure that the rules approved by the clubs themselves are upheld, in order to protect the integrity of the competition. Maintaining a competitive and fair environment for all clubs and supporters is fundamental to the Premier League, and we take this role extremely seriously.”

“This disciplinary case and its findings are among the most significant in the history of the Premier League. There remain matters within the case that still need to be determined, most importantly what sanctions these breaches should result in. Now that we have the commission’s findings, we are committed to progressing the remaining stages swiftly, providing certainty for the league, its clubs and supporters.”The Premier League is able to publish the core findings because the commission has determined, and the Appeal Board has confirmed, that the commission’s findings constitute a “final decision.”

With the charges having been proven, the issue of sanctions will now be addressed at a separate hearing before an independent commission.

Under the Premier League’s rules, that hearing will remain private and confidential until the outcome is authorised for publication.

Manchester City has the right to appeal the independent commission’s findings and must exercise that right by Friday, October 2.

The Premier League Board’s intention is to complete the entire process as soon as possible, including any appeals and the publication of the relevant decisions.