Premier League confirms Man City guilty of serious financial breaches
No sanction has yet been imposed and City said they will appeal against the decision.
Manchester City has been found guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-year period, according to an independent commission. The club arranged "sham" contracts with commercial partners to artificially inflate their revenues and reduce costs by over £900 million between 2009 and 2018. This allowed them to conceal their true financial situation and avoid breaches of Premier League and UEFA spending limits.
The commission found that City overstated income from image rights by nearly £74 million and understated liabilities for staff contracts by nearly £17 million. They also arranged commercial deals where companies paid only a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees, with the remainder funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development (ADUG), the club's owners.
The club was found to have "made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate" the Premier League's investigation. If the appeal fails, Manchester City faces potential relegation from the Premier League, as sanctions can range from points deductions to expulsion from the division.
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- Man City guilty of using ‘sham’ deals to distort finances, Premier League says freemalaysiatoday.com
- Richards 'devastated' by Man City guilty verdicts sports.yahoo.com
- Man City guilty of using 'sham' deals to distort finances, Premier League says thejakartapost.com
- Richards devastated by Man City guilty verdicts bbc.co.uk
- Manchester City Found Guilty of Premier League Financial Breaches kahawatungu.com
- Premier League confirms Man City guilty of serious financial breaches japantimes.co.jp
