The intricate web Man City spun to con the Premier League
The 40-page document which sets out how Manchester City were found guilty of inflating sponsorship income makes fascinating reading. Here's what it sets out.
The independent commission's ruling on Manchester City's financial misconduct detailed how the club's Abu Dhabi-based owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group, intentionally deceived financial watchdogs. The 40-page report highlights how City's owners anticipated substantial overspending to achieve their competitive ambitions, leading them to devise a series of deceptive practices over nine seasons.
These included a "Disguised Funding Scheme" that concealed over £830m in sponsorship funding and £90m in expenses. The club's owners consistently paid the majority of these contracts, allowing them to invest in top players while presenting a falsely inflated commercial revenue figure to regulators. The ruling rejected the club's claim that the Premier League misunderstood the sponsorship agreements, labeling it as a "concocted explanation" designed to obscure the truth.
Additionally, the report exposed Project Longbow, a legitimate initiative designed to boost revenue and reduce losses, but revealed that the Fordham Arrangement was merely a "front" that enabled the club to funnel funds from owners into the club's image rights, falsely recorded as operating income.
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