After more than two years of investigations, the independent commission has delivered its verdict on the 115 charges against Manchester City regarding breaches of Premier League financial rules. Hearings commenced on September 16, 2024, following a four-year preliminary inquiry, and concluded with the commission finding the club guilty on the majority of counts. However, this is just the beginning of a complex saga.
What exactly are the charges against Manchester City?
In February 2023, the Premier League handed over the case to an independent commission concerning alleged financial misconduct covering the period from 2009 to 2018:
- 54 counts: failure to provide accurate and truthful financial information (from the 2009/10 season to the 2017/18 season).
- 14 counts: concealing accurate details about players' and coaching staff's payments (from the 2009/10 season to the 2017/18 season).
- 5 counts: breaching UEFA rules, including Financial Fair Play (from the 2013/14 season to the 2017/18 season).
- 7 counts: violating Premier League profitability and sustainability rules (from the 2015/16 season to the 2017/18 season).
- 35 counts: refusing to cooperate with the Premier League investigation between December 2018 and February 2023.
The basis of the investigation stemmed from internal emails leaked by German publication Der Spiegel, suggesting that the Citizens artificially inflated sponsorship revenue from state airline Etihad and telecom giant Etisalat, disguising direct financial infusions from the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) under the guise of commercial contracts. Such schemes allowed them to bypass UEFA and Premier League loss limits.
Moreover, investigators uncovered secret payments to former manager Roberto Mancini through bogus consultancy contracts with the Abu Dhabi club, as well as under-the-table payments to players that circumvented official accounting records.
Chronology of the long-running case: from early leaks to the 2026 verdict
| Date | Key Event |
| November 2018 | Publication of Football Leaks materials in Der Spiegel regarding breaches of FFP rules by the club. |
| March 2019 | UEFA opens an official disciplinary investigation based on media reports. |
| February 2020 | UEFA bans Manchester City from European competitions for two seasons and imposes a €30 million fine. |
| July 2020 | The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturns the two-year ban from European competitions. |
| July 2021 | The club loses a jurisdiction dispute, allowing publicity around the Premier League investigation. |
| February 2023 | The Premier League officially charges Manchester City with 115 counts. |
| September 2024 | Start of ten weeks of closed hearings by the independent commission. |
| February 2025 | Pep Guardiola remarks on expecting a verdict within a month; by summer, the Spaniard departs the Etihad. |
| September 2026 | The independent commission delivers its ruling, finding the club guilty on most charges. |
What sanctions could the club face?
While the verdict has been delivered, specific penalties have yet to be announced. The independent commission has a wide spectrum of disciplinary powers:
- Points deduction (immediate or conditional with deferred execution).
- Massive financial penalties potentially topping all sporting histories.
- Exclusion from the Premier League, leading to the cancellation of the club's license and forced relegation to a lower division.
- Extreme points penalties mathematically guaranteeing relegation from the top flight by season's end.
The Premier League refrained from making official comments on Friday, while Manchester City issued a statement expressing clear dissatisfaction with the leakage of the verdict to the media:
The Premier League process is ongoing, significant aspects of the investigation are yet to be concluded, and they are subject to strict confidentiality. The position of Manchester City Football Club remains unchanged since February 2023. The club has diligently followed proper procedures for eight years, hoping that the board and leadership of the Premier League would act as an independent, impartial, and fair regulator free from party pressure.
Appeals and timelines: how much longer will this drag on?
Manchester City's appeal appears to be a sure-fire move. Leading the club's legal team is Lord David Pannick (whose fees are estimated at £5,000 an hour) — the same figure who helped the club overturn their European ban in 2020.
This process could stretch on for several more years. However, a notable feature of the Premier League's regulations is that the disciplinary commission's verdict cannot be appealed to the CAS; the dispute will only be considered within the British appellate system of the league.
Threat to titles and potential beneficiaries
During the nine-year span under investigation, Manchester City clinched seven prestigious trophies: three Premier League titles (2011/12, 2013/14, 2017/18), one FA Cup (2010/11), and three EFL Cups (2013/14, 2015/16, 2017/18).
If the independent commission takes the unprecedented step of annulling tournament results and reallocating medals to the teams who finished second, the list of new champions and trophy holders could look like this:
Premier League:
- 2011/12 — Manchester United
- 2013/14 — Liverpool
- 2017/18 — Manchester United
FA Cup:
- 2010/11 — Stoke City
EFL Cup:
- 2013/14 — Sunderland
- 2015/16 — Liverpool
- 2017/18 — Arsenal
At the same time, City's rivals are already consulting lawyers about the possibility of filing claims for financial damages due to lost opportunities, particularly missing out on the Champions League, prize money losses, or relegation from the top flight.
A precedent for this has already been set: in 2026, Everton was ordered to pay Burnley £35 million (£26 million in direct damages and £9 million in interest) for breaching sustainability rules in the 2021/22 season, which affected their relegation battle.
What's the fundamental difference from cases involving Chelsea, Everton, and Nottingham?
In the 2023/24 season, both Everton and Nottingham Forest were punished with point reductions (Everton lost a total of eight points across two incidents, while the Forest lost four). However, these precedents involved simple one-off breaches of loss limits under the PSR with minimal evidence.
The case against Chelsea, which involved 74 allegations related to historical transfers during the eras of Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto'o, and Willian, also had a different character: the new owners of the London club voluntarily informed the league of secret payments made by the previous management totalling £47 million and reached an out-of-court settlement, paying a £10 million fine.
In contrast, Manchester City categorically denies all accusations from the regulators, effectively turning the outcome of this dispute into a pivotal moment for European football.
