Manchester City found guilty on almost all Premier League charges relating to financial breaches

The ongoing legal battle between Manchester City and the Premier League has seen the club found guilty of nearly all 100 financial charges laid by the league. The saga, which spans eight years, began when German outlet Der Spiegel published internal emails from City, detailing alleged schemes to cover up true sources of income to comply with financial fair play regulations.

The information was sourced from the "Football Leaks" website, founded by Portuguese hacker Rui Pinto. City did not dispute the authenticity of the emails but refused to comment on the allegedly hacked materials.

UEFA, European soccer's governing body, launched a review of the case, sparking a Premier League investigation. On March 7, UEFA opened a formal investigation into whether City violated financial rules. City welcomed the investigation, stating it was an opportunity to end speculation resulting from the illegal hacking. May 14 saw City claim it had provided "comprehensive proof" that it did not break financial regulations, while reports suggested they were not cooperating with investigators and risked a one-season Champions League ban.

UEFA's investigation began on May 14, and City was banned from the Champions League for two seasons in February 2020, in addition to a €30 million ($33 million) fine. City contested the ban, planning to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In July 2020, City successfully overturned its Champions League ban after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld their appeal, citing unproven allegations and time-barred claims.

The appeal also imposed a €10 million ($11.3 million) fine on City for failing to cooperate with independent investigators.

On February 6, City was referred to an independent commission by the Premier League, which alleged more than 100 breaches of financial rules. The club was accused of providing misleading information about its finances from 2009-18 and failing to cooperate with the league's investigation. City described the allegations as "surprising" and asserted they had "comprehensive evidence" to counter the claims.

The independent commission began hearing the Premier League charges against City on September 11, with no announcement of the expected verdict date for 12 weeks. On December 6, the hearing concluded without any announcement of the verdict. The Athletic reported on September 25 that City had been found guilty of all but one of the charges laid by the Premier League.