Man City guilty of almost all the 115 financial breaches, Premier League says in explosive verdict

Manchester City has been found guilty of virtually all 115 charges of financial misconduct, according to the Premier League, in one of the most significant scandals in English football history. The club, which has been the most successful in England for the past 15 years and is currently leading the Premier League, now faces severe penalties that could include a significant points deduction or even expulsion from the league, causing substantial reputational damage to its Abu Dhabi ownership.

The independent commission's verdict stated that the club "systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade," with the case initiated by the competition over three years ago, first arising in 2018 from leaked club emails and documents. The violations include failing to provide accurate financial information, submitting inflated figures for sponsorship deals, hiding payments to managers and players, and breaching financial rules established by the Premier League and UEFA to maintain club financial stability.

City also faced numerous charges of failing to cooperate with the investigation between 2018 and 2023. The league revealed that City arranged "sham" contracts with commercial partners and relied on "sham" agreements to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs. Furthermore, the club filed misstated accounts and concealed its true financial state from auditors and regulators.

The verdict essentially finds that City's dominance of English football, built on expensive squads curated over the past two decades, was founded on deceit and cover-ups. This could lead to chaos in English football, triggering lawsuits from rival clubs seeking compensation for being impacted by City's actions. The future of top stars like Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki at the club, as well as that of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the deputy prime minister of the UAE and owner of City, remains uncertain.

City has always maintained its innocence, stating in 2023 that there was "comprehensive evidence supporting its position," and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak reiterated this confidence this weekend. The club plans to appeal the verdict, with any appeal potentially reaching the High Court in London if deemed unfair or impartial.