Manchester City found guilty over 'sham' contracts and £830m disguised funding
September 29, 2026 20:30
An independent commission and the Premier League have found Manchester City guilty of arranging "sham contracts" and using sham agreements to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs, in a scheme the commission says disguised more than £830.69m of funding. The breaches relate to Premier League financial rules covering the 2009-10 to 2017-18 seasons. The club continues to deny wrongdoing and has until 2 October to submit an appeal.
KEY CONTEXT
The commission's redacted report said the charges covered well over 100 alleged individual breaches across four broad categories and that City were found guilty of all charges except one relating to non-cooperation with the League's investigation. It also concluded that "a number of important Club witnesses gave false evidence in key respects and that some knowingly gave untrue and dishonest evidence."
The report states City recorded £360m in sponsor fees across the three seasons they won the Premier League (2011-12, 2013-14 and 2017-18), but only £43m of that was judged to be legitimate; the remainder was characterised as funding from the club's owners disguised as sponsorship. The commission said the scheme allowed the club "to avoid recording what would otherwise have been the largest single-season loss in Premier League history in 2009-10."
REACTIONS
Richard Masters, chief executive of the Premier League, said: "The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade." Lisa Nandy, the Culture, Media & Sport secretary, told the BBC: "It's incredibly serious, the Premier League report is incredibly stark. This is causing a lot of concern for Man City fans and all fans of Premier League football." Former City chairman David Bernstein described the findings as "damning beyond belief."
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
The Premier League said City's sanction will be addressed separately at a further hearing with the independent commission; League rules require that hearing to remain private and confidential. The club has until 2 October to lodge an appeal against the findings.
KEY FACTS
- Alleged disguised funding: £830.69m described by the commission.
- Sponsor fees recorded across three title seasons: £360m; judged legitimate: £43m.
- Relevant seasons under scrutiny: 2009-10 to 2017-18.
- Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) is identified in the report as the club's owners; ADUG took over the club in 2008.
- The commission's evidence index ran to more than 750 pages; the core bundle contained many tens of thousands of pages.