Manchester City found guilty on 114 of 115 charges of financial breaches

Manchester City has been found guilty of almost all the charges against it relating to breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations, according to people briefed on the decision. Sanctions have not yet been determined, and the club was expected to appeal the decision.

City, which is on top of the Premier League standings after five games, was found guilty on all but one of the 115 charges, according to sources briefed on the matter who spoke anonymously as they were not authorized to do so publicly. The Premier League first charged City in February 2023 after a four-year investigation.

A City spokesperson told The Athletic: “The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality. As such, Manchester City FC’s position remains consistent with the club’s statement of February 2023.

“The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair minded regulator, free from partisan influence.”

City’s statement in February 2023 said that the club was “surprised” by the charges, adding that it “welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.”

The principal financial allegations concern breaches from the 2009-10 season through 2017-18. The Premier League referred the club to an independent commission after an investigation that began following the publication by the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel of leaked internal documents in November 2018.

The allegations included failures to provide accurate financial information and full details of payments to players and coaches, as well as breaches of financial fair play regulations set by UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, and the Premier League’s own profitability and sustainability rules. The club has consistently denied wrongdoing.

Manchester City has won eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups, seven League Cups and one Champions League under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour, whose Abu Dhabi United Group acquired the club in 2008, making City one of the most successful clubs in English soccer over that period.

In February 2020, UEFA hit City with a two-year ban from its competitions and a fine of 30 million euros ($32.2 million) after the leaks published by Der Spiegel. The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the ban five months later, finding that some of the alleged breaches had not been established and others happened too long ago to be punished under UEFA’s regulations.

City, though, was found to have failed to cooperate with UEFA by failing to provide substantial amounts of evidence, a breach the court of arbitration said was “severe” and needed to be “seriously reproached.” It reduced the fine to 10 million euros ($11.4 million).

The Premier League and its CEO, Richard Masters, have repeatedly been pressed on the City case since the charges were brought more than three years ago. Last month, Masters acknowledged that the process had “taken longer than expected” but insisted the “only available route” was to “let the process take its course.”

In January 2024, Masters told a select committee in Parliament that a date for City’s hearing had been set but refused to reveal it.

City’s chair, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, said in June 2024 that the Premier League should adopt a more “balanced approach” toward its financial regulations. “I think the Premier League got to where it is today by being the most competitive league. So, I hope there is a bit more sensibility in regulating,” Al Mubarak added.

During the period covered by the principal financial allegations, Manchester City won the Premier League three times, the FA Cup once, the League Cup three times and the Community Shield once.

Last season, City won a domestic cup double in Pep Guardiola’s final campaign as head coach but fell short to Arsenal in the Premier League.

City had also been at loggerheads with the Premier League over its financial rules for several years, though it reached a settlement with the league in September 2025.

In November 2024, Guardiola signed a contract extension through June 2027 and said he would remain at City even if the club were relegated as a result of sanctions. He announced in May that he would leave after 10 years in charge and was replaced by Enzo Maresca.

City has won its first five Premier League games under Maresca. The club spent about 450 million pounds ($600 million) during the summer transfer window, including 125 million pounds (about $165 million) on midfielder Enzo Fernández of Chelsea, equaling the British transfer record.

The potential punishments are outlined in Rule W.51 of the Premier League’s handbook, which gives the commission a range of sanctions to consider, from a reprimand and fines to points deductions — and even expulsion from the Premier League.

A points deduction could be applied when the decision is made or retrospectively, meaning City could be stripped of titles.

“I would expect that if there is a points deduction, it would be applied going forward,” James Hill, a legal director at Onside Law specializing in sports regulatory matters, said in 2023. “Generally, panels don’t like deciding titles in a court process. Doing it that way does not give a real tangible punishment to the club.”

According to Rule W.51.7, the commission can choose to combine any number of the punishments outlined in the rule book or impose other sanctions it deems appropriate. However, the punishments could be challenged on appeal, including on the grounds that they were disproportionate to the breaches in question.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.