Manchester City found guilty after years-long financial case
Manchester City has been found guilty of serious Premier League financial breaches covering nine seasons from 2009 to 2018, according to the league’s case timeline. The club denies wrongdoing and has announced an appeal. No sanction has yet been imposed, while the verdict follows an investigation and hearing lasting several years.
Manchester City has been found guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules covering nine seasons between 2009 and 2018, according to a timeline published by AFP. The club was accused of using sham sponsorship arrangements and misstating financial information by more than £900 million. The Premier League referred the case to an independent commission in February 2023 after a four-year investigation into more than 100 alleged breaches.
The allegations included failures to provide accurate financial information, breaches of profitability and sustainability rules, breaches of financial fair-play requirements and a failure to cooperate with investigations. City denied wrongdoing and said it possessed substantial evidence supporting its position. The case began publicly in November 2018, when Der Spiegel reported allegations that the club had attempted to bypass UEFA financial fair-play rules through backdated cash injections by Abu Dhabi-based sponsors.
City rejected the reports and said they followed an illegal hacking of club emails. UEFA opened an investigation in March 2019. In February 2020, it imposed a two-season European competition ban and a €30 million fine after finding serious breaches.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the ban in July that year and reduced the fine to €10 million, finding that most allegations were either unproven or time-barred, while upholding a penalty for failing to cooperate. An independent commission heard the Premier League case from September to December 2024. In September 2026, the verdict found City guilty on all charges concerning serious financial breaches and all but one charge related to cooperation.
The club has announced its intention to appeal. The source material does not state what punishment, if any, the Premier League will impose.
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