Manchester City's commercial partners are starting to respond to an independent commission's ruling related to the club's financial affairs. Attention now turns to sponsorship agreements, which have emerged as a key focus of the inquiry.
The commission's findings revealed that between 2009 and 2018, City employed fictitious sponsorship deals with several commercial partners.
It was established that these companies paid only a portion of the stated contract values, with the remainder funneled in from Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd — the ownership group behind Manchester City.
Such arrangements enabled City to artificially inflate its income while simultaneously reducing reflected expenses in its reports. The cumulative impact of these dealings is estimated to exceed £900 million.
This strategy allowed Manchester City to demonstrate compliance with the Premier League's financial requirements during a period when, without these funds, the club would have significantly exceeded acceptable limits.
Under scrutiny now are not only the actions of the club itself but also the role of its commercial partners in establishing these agreements.
Manchester City continues to deny any wrongdoing and plans to appeal the decision.
