MANCHESTER — Manchester City have been found guilty on the majority of 115 charges for alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules between 2009 and 2018, sources have told BBC Sport, more than two years after the club were charged in February 2023 and after a 10-week hearing that began on 16 September 2024. The development, first reported by The Athletic as guilty on almost all charges, follows a four-year investigation, though the independent commission's written judgment and any sanctions have yet to be officially published.
The charges referred to an independent commission in February 2023 cover 54 alleged failures to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 to 2017-18, 14 failures to provide accurate details for player and manager payments in the same period, five failures to comply with Uefa rules including Financial Fair Play from 2013-14 to 2017-18, seven breaches of Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules from 2015-16 to 2017-18, and 35 failures to co-operate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 to February 2023. The case stems from leaked documents published by German newspaper Der Spiegel after the club's 2008 Abu Dhabi takeover, which alleged City inflated sponsorship revenue from Etihad and Etisalat by channelling funds from Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi United Group through the companies, and alleged secret 'off-the-books' payments to then-manager Roberto Mancini and additional player payments. City, who have always maintained ADUG is a private fund rather than an arm of the state, called the leaks an "attempt to damage the club's reputation" and have always denied wrongdoing.
The timeline stretches back to November 2018 when the Football Leaks allegations emerged, leading to a Uefa formal investigation in March 2019. City criticised that process and appealed, saw the Court of Arbitration for Sport deem an early appeal inadmissible in November 2019, then received a two-year European ban and €30m fine from Uefa in February 2020 before that ban was overturned by CAS in July 2020. The Premier League continued its investigation, with Der Spiegel publishing a fresh report in April 2022, before the 115 charges in February 2023. The hearing ran for 10 weeks from September 2024, and in February 2025 manager Pep Guardiola said the club expected a verdict "within one month" — Guardiola left the Etihad at the end of last season. Manchester City won seven domestic trophies during the period of the alleged offences.
It was never expected the verdict would arrive with sanctions attached, and the panel's composition will only be revealed when the written judgment is released. All options remain open to the disciplinary commission, including an immediate or suspended points deduction, immediate or suspended financial penalties, and removal from the Premier League — which would mean losing membership and demotion to a lower division from the end of the season, either directly or through a points penalty so severe it would effectively relegate the club.
BBC Sport has been told City would appeal were they found guilty, and the club issued a statement expressing frustration that news of the verdict had leaked: "The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality. As such Manchester City FC's position remains consistent with the club's statement of February 2023. 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." The Premier League declined to comment when approached on Friday, and the process is now in a waiting period until the judgment is made public.