United Arab Emirates threaten the United Kingdom if the sanction on Manchester City is too severe
In the corridors of Downing Street, British diplomats have heard warnings from the United Arab Emirates: if the sanction imposed on Manchester City, the Citizens, proves too severe, the Gulf State will drastically reduce its investments in the United Kingdom in the near future.
Economic pressures from the Emirates
The government of the United Arab Emirates has said it could sharply cut its investments in the United Kingdom if the Premier League's decision is deemed excessive. Bloomberg reports that over the past five years, the Emirates have injected more than £30 million (€30 million) into sectors such as defence, science or technology, and that a bilateral summit is scheduled in the coming days.
On 14 September, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of the Cityzens group and chief executive of Mubadala Investment Company, met the British Secretary of State for Business, Jonathan Reynolds, at Downing Street. The interview, which did not address the club's case, focused exclusively on the Emirates' current and future investment projects in the United Kingdom, covering defence, security, intelligence and trade.
Furthermore, the independent financial fair‑play commission found that Manchester City committed 114 breaches of Premier League rules. The contemplated sanction could range from a heavy fine to points deduction, or even exclusion from the league, and the club has already announced its intention to appeal.
Stakes of the Manchester City case
On 29 September, the Premier League issued its decision, recalling that the club had used fictitious commercial contracts to inflate its revenue by more than £900 million (over €1 billion) and artificially reduce its costs for nearly a decade. This practice led to the club being charged with all accusations of serious financial violations.
Manchester City was bought in 2008 by an Abu Dhabi investment fund. Since then, the club has been accused of fraud exceeding €1 billion between 2009 and 2018. Mubadala, whose assets amount to about $385 billion, led the investment partnership signed in March 2021 and, according to Bloomberg, the cumulative commitments would reach more than £20 billion by the end of 2025, double the initially planned £10 billion.
«In my capacity as signatory for the United Arab Emirates of the fruitful investment partnership between the United Kingdom and the Emirates, signed with Lord Grimstone in March 2021, Mr Al Mubarak has naturally been in regular dialogue for many years with representatives of the British government and business community».
Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated: «I thank the City Football Group and the owners more broadly for the money they have invested not only in the Etihad Stadium and its surrounding campus, but also in the city». The spokesperson at 10 Downing Street reminded that «no one is above the law and those responsible for this fraud must be held to account».
These tensions show that the case goes beyond the sporting arena and could affect diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, with Emirati authorities warning that the severity of the decision could curtail their future large‑scale investments in the United Kingdom.