Premier League commission finds Manchester City inflated revenues

An independent commission appointed by the Premier League has ruled that Manchester City is guilty of every charge relating to severe breaches of the competition’s financial regulations over nine consecutive seasons, and of obstructing the investigation by withdrawing cooperation. The judgment covers the period from the 2009/10 season through 2017/18.

Scope of the violations

The investigators said the Citizens’ management built an accounting architecture designed to mask the club’s true balance. Fictitious contracts with several commercial partners and fabricated agreements were used to inflate revenue while formal sponsors paid only a fraction of the sums declared.

The remainder of the declared income was supplied directly by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd, the owners of the club. In parallel, the board employed similar mechanisms to cut operating costs, including a triangulation with the firm Fordham for the professional squad’s image‑rights management.

Through this financial engineering the Etihad side concealed movements amounting to more than £900 million, aiming to simulate compliance with local Profit and Sustainability Rules and UEFA’s Financial Fair Play requirements.

Mediante su conducta, el club claramente pretendió eludir las Reglas de la Premier League

The sanctioning commission wrote: “Through its conduct, the club clearly intended to evade the Premier League Rules.” It also noted that the club omitted transparent balances from both the football regulators and its own auditors, breaching repeated cooperation commitments.

Club’s response and appeal

Manchester City issued a statement saying it was “both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Commission, published today”. The club asserted that it is innocent of the accusations and that a full body of irrefutable evidence supports its position.

CITY declared it will be relentless and proactive in all appropriate regulatory and legal forums, and will now seek the appeal routes allowed, arguing that the opinion contains clear material errors of law, principle and fact.

The club added that it has diligently respected due process for eight years, trusting the Premier League board and executive to act as independent, impartial regulators, and that it is limited in comment until all future procedures are completed.