Manchester City has been found guilty of serious violations of the Premier League's financial rules over a nine-season period. An independent Commission discovered that the club used fake commercial agreements to inflate revenues and cut costs by more than £900 million.
The Premier League made this announcement on Tuesday, September 29, 2026. They published a summary of the Commission’s Core Decision.
The Commission ruled Manchester City guilty of all charges related to the financial violations. They also found the club mostly guilty of failing to cooperate with the Premier League's investigation.
The findings cover the seasons from 2009/10 to 2017/18.
The Premier League reported that the Commission discovered City “arranged ‘sham’ contracts (which misrepresented the true agreement between the parties) with a number of its commercial partners.” They also relied on fake agreements with other sponsors to inflate their revenues and lower their costs.
The Commission found that the club “filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators.”
It was also discovered that City had broken the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits significantly.
According to the Premier League, the Commission saw that City’s deals with some sponsors were part of a hidden funding scheme. The companies only paid part of the sponsorship fees, while the rest was funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd, which owns the club.
The statement said, “The purpose of these schemes was found to have been to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs by more than £900 million during the affected period, to appear to comply with financial rules.”
The Commission concluded that “by its conduct the club clearly intended to circumvent the PL Rules.”
Because of this, the Premier League said City did not report its income and expenses accurately for the Profitability and Sustainability Rules and UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Rules.
The Commission found that if the relevant agreements had been reported correctly, City would have significantly breached the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits.
The Commission also found the club guilty of misconduct during the Premier League’s four-year investigation.
The League stated that City had multiple breaches of its duty to cooperate and act in good faith. Three of the four alleged breaches were upheld.
The Commission concluded that City had “made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the PL investigation.”
Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Masters, called the ruling a landmark decision in the history of the competition.
He 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.”
Masters added, “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.”
He noted that the League has a duty to enforce the rules approved by the clubs themselves.
“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,” Masters said.
He described the case and the Commission’s decision as “the most significant in Premier League history.”
“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,” Masters said.
He added, “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 Premier League stated that the issue of sanctions will be handled separately in a future hearing before the independent Commission.
“Now that the charges have been proved, the issue of sanction will be addressed separately in a further hearing with the independent Commission,” the League said.
They mentioned that the hearing will stay private until the outcome can be published under their rules.
The Commission's possible sanctions include fines, points deductions, and other sports penalties, according to the Premier League’s explanation of its disciplinary process.
Manchester City can appeal the Commission’s findings. They must decide whether to do this by Friday, October 2.
“The club has the right to appeal the independent Commission’s findings and has until Friday 2 October to exercise that right,” the Premier League said.
The League's Board aims to finish the entire process, including appeals and publication of decisions, “as soon as possible.”
The Premier League started its investigation into City in December 2018, and a formal complaint was made under Section W of its rules in February 2023.
The independent Commission held a 42-day hearing, which wrapped up in December 2024.
The Premier League mentioned that the Commission’s decision took longer than expected due to the amount of evidence. The hearing generated about 7,000 pages of witness and expert transcripts and extensive written submissions.
The Premier League has only published a redacted version of the Commission’s Core Decision so far. Other parts of the decision remain confidential.
Drop your comment
No comments yet — be the first to drop the gist 👇