Manchester City could face a range of sanctions after an independent Premier League commission found that the club artificially inflated its revenues and reduced its costs by more than £900 million over nearly a decade.
The investigation began more than three years ago.
The findings, released publicly by the Premier League on Tuesday, detailed that between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons:
- Manchester City arranged ‘sham’ contracts (which misrepresented the true agreement between the parties) with a number of its commercial partners, as well as relying on ‘sham’ agreements with others, to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs
- The club filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators
- Manchester City was significantly in breach of both the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits
- During the Premier League’s investigation, Manchester City committed multiple breaches of its duties of co-operation and utmost good faith towards the League (three of the four alleged breaches were upheld)
“This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history," said Richard Masters, Chief Executive of the Premier League. "There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches. Now we have the Commission’s decision, we are committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process, to provide certainty for the League, our clubs and fans.”
The club has confirmed it will appeal the decision and has until Friday to do so. Manchester City has repeatedly maintained its innocence throughout the proceedings and has issued numerous statements defending its position. In its most recent statement, the club said it was "both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission."
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 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.
The Club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.
The Club is obviously restricted in what it can say further until all future proceedings are complete.
The commission's ruling does not itself determine punishment. A separate phase of the process will determine what sanctions, if any, Manchester City will face.
At this time, no penalties have been imposed.
Potential sanctions discussed by analysts and media reports have included points deductions, substantial fines and transfer restrictions. One of the most severe possible outcomes, expulsion from the league, would require a separate shareholder vote.
As of publication, no formal sporting sanctions or points deductions have been announced. Any punishment will not be finalized until the appeals process is complete.
