Manchester City found guilty of financial breaches, plan appeal

Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of Premier League financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

The ruling came from an independent commission, a panel appointed to hear the league’s case. City have signalled they intend to lodge an appeal by Friday and say the decision is unsafe. BBC

At the centre is £830.69m. The commission found that Abu Dhabi United Group, known as ADUG, had topped up the value of City’s commercial deals by that amount as part of a disguised funding scheme. The league’s financial regulations set limits on how clubs report income and spending, and the panel ruled City had broken those rules.

City are expected to argue on appeal that money directed to sponsors came from the Abu Dhabi government rather than from ADUG. The commission rejected that explanation as untrue. It concluded the account was concocted after the event to obscure the funding scheme.

ADUG is the private investment company of Sheikh Mansour, which took over City in 2008. Sheikh Mansour is vice-president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. That ownership link matters because the case turns on who really paid for sponsorship deals in the years after the takeover.

City say the decision contains clear material errors of law, principle and fact. Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has previously referred to irrefutable evidence supporting the club’s claims of innocence. City deny wrongdoing.

Etihad Airways has also responded. The airline said it categorically rejects any finding suggesting it was involved in improper commercial arrangements. It said it is considering legal action against the Premier League over the release of the commission findings.

The case has deep roots. The Premier League charged City with more than 100 breaches of its financial rules in February 2023 after a long investigation. Questions about City’s sponsorship income had been raised earlier, including reporting by Der Spiegel which alleged that Abu Dhabi sponsors had provided only a portion of their payments themselves. The league published its formal statement on the verdict on 29 September 2026. Premier League

For fans, this means more waiting. No sanction has been applied while an appeal is pending. The next step is City’s expected challenge, which would send one of English football’s longest-running legal fights into another round.