{
  "id": 10779795,
  "title": "The intricate web Man City spun to con the Premier League",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/the-intricate-web-man-city-spun-to-con-the-premier-league-10779795",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-29T20:58:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/intricate-man-city-spun-con-205822510.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "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.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Will Man City be relegated? Breaking down possible punishments for Premier League financial rule-breaking",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/will-man-city-be-relegated-breaking-down-possible-punishments-for",
        "published": "2026-09-29T17:05:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC Sport Football",
        "title": "The intricate web Man City spun to con the Premier League",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/the-intricate-web-man-city-spun-to-con-the-premier-league",
        "published": "2026-09-29T20:58:17.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}