Manchester City have been found guilty on 114 charges of financial breaches, per a statement released by the Premier League on Tuesday, including all financial charges and all but one charge relating to lack of cooperation with the investigation. The investigation was done by an independent commission and determined that between the 2009-10 season and the 2017-18 season, City breached spending limits, had sham contracts, misstated their accounts, and did other things to make it seem as if their revenue was in line with Premier League spending limits. Despite all charges being proven by the league, what the sanctions will be is to be determined separately, and City has until Friday, Oct. 2, to appeal the independent commission's finding
Former City manager Roberto Mancini alluded to having a double contract during his time with City, which included leading the club to their first league title in 2012. Speaking in a press conference before Italy's UEFA Nations League match with Turkiye, Mancini maintained both his own and City's innocence.
"It's not something new because every four or five years this comes up. Manchester City is not guilty, and the fact of having a double contract isn't my problem but theirs, probably," Mancini said.
The league announced the finding on Tuesday after news of the result of the inquiry first broke on Friday.
"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," Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said.
"It also vindicates the Premier League's decision to pursue this case against Manchester City. While the process to date has been both long and difficult, the League has remained determined that the facts be established independently.
"It is a key responsibility of the Premier League to ensure that the Rules, approved by the clubs themselves, are upheld to protect the integrity of the competition. It is paramount that the League remains competitive and fair for all clubs and for the fans. We take that role extremely seriously.
"This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history. There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches. Now we have the Commission's decision, we are committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process, to provide certainty for the League, our clubs and fans."
The investigation began in 2018, before a complaint was issued to City in February of 2023. That was then followed by a 42-day hearing, which concluded in December of 2024, which the commission said was long than it would've liked to take, but given the scope of the case, one can understand why it was such a lengthy process.
What's Manchester City saying?
Manchester City have issued their own statement on the matter, maintaining their innocence and that they do plan to appeal the Premier League decision on the matter.
The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. The Club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.
The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements uncompleted. Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.
The Club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.
The Club is obviously restricted in what it can say further until all future proceedings are complete.
What's next?
With the deadline to launch an appeal of the findings now set, the expectation is for City to appeal now that there is an official decision. That will determine how many of the 115 charges against City stand as well as what the sanctions process would look like. Even if the appeal does go against City, there is still the possibility of further legal wrangling outside of the official Premier League process. Certainly City's statement suggests they will leave no legal stone unturned, no matter how unlikely to succeed it might be.
What's next for Manchester City? Appeal process and penalties following major Premier League financial ruling James Benge
We're well into unprecedented territory with the nature of these charges, and the possibility of heavy sanctions looms large. Everything from fines to being relegated from the Premier League, to possibly being forced even furether down the pyramid is on the table. It's worth noting that the infractions themselves are only in regard to the period of 2009-2018 and anything after that relates to impeding the investigation. These violations were from the period when City was building themselves into the comeptitve powerhouse that they would become, but it was still a period of success for the Manchester side.
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