Manchester City Found Guilty of Premier League Financial Rule Breaches

Manchester City have been found guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules following a ruling by an independent Commission.

The Premier League announced the decision on September 29, saying the Commission found Manchester City guilty of all charges relating to serious financial-rule breaches over a nine-season period from the 2009/10 to 2017/18 seasons. The Commission also upheld the majority of charges concerning the club's cooperation with the League's investigation.

According to the Premier League, the Commission found that Manchester City had used commercial arrangements that misrepresented the true agreements between the parties and artificially increased the club's reported revenues while reducing its costs.

The Commission also found that the club had submitted misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators, according to the Premier League's published summary.

The League said the arrangements resulted in more than £900 million being artificially added to reported revenues or removed from reported costs during the affected period. It said this meant the club failed to accurately report its financial position for the purposes of Premier League and UEFA spending regulations.

The ruling followed an investigation that began in December 2018. The Premier League subsequently referred the case to an independent Commission in February 2023, and the Commission held a 42-day hearing that concluded in December 2024.

Manchester City has rejected the Commission's findings. In a statement published after the decision, the club said it was disappointed and surprised by the ruling and said it would pursue the available appeal avenues, arguing that the decision contains material errors of law, principle and fact.

The Premier League said the question of sanctions will be addressed separately in a further hearing before the independent Commission. It noted that possible sanctions under its rules can include fines, points deductions and other sporting measures, but no sanction has been announced at this stage.

Manchester City has until Friday, October 2, to exercise its right to appeal the Commission's findings.

The case therefore remains ongoing, with the appeal process and separate sanction proceedings still to be completed.