The Premier League has confirmed that Manchester City were found guilty of serious financial breaches, days after reports emerged that an independent commission had found the club guilty of most of the charges brought against it.
The League, in a statement on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, said an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of its financial rules over a nine-season period, as well as the majority of charges concerning the club’s failure to cooperate with its investigation.
The confirmation follows a report that Manchester City had reportedly been found guilty of 114 of the 115 financial charges brought against the club.
The ICIR reported that the sanctions had not been determined and that Manchester City was expected to appeal the findings.
Although, the Premier League has now formally confirmed that the commission found the charges proved, the question of sanctions remains outstanding.
According to the League, the commission found that Manchester City arranged “sham” contracts with several commercial partners and relied on other agreements that misrepresented the true arrangements between the parties.
The commission found that the arrangements artificially inflated the club’s revenues and reduced its costs by more than £900 million during the period under investigation.
The findings also established that some of the club’s commercial partners were required to pay only part of their stated sponsorship fees, with the remainder funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), the company that owned Manchester City.
The commission further found that other arrangements funded by ADUG enabled the club to record lower operating expenses than it actually incurred.
A separate arrangement involving Fordham, an entity that purchased the image rights of Manchester City players, was also found to have been funded by ADUG.
The Premier League said the purpose of the arrangements was to artificially inflate Manchester City’s revenues and reduce its costs, allowing the club to appear to comply with financial rules.
The commission also found that Manchester City filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators.
The Premier League said the club consequently failed to accurately report its income and expenditure for the purposes of its Profitability and Sustainability Rules and UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Rules.
Had the relevant agreements been accurately reflected in the club’s accounts, the commission found that Manchester City would have breached both the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits “by a very substantial amount”.
The commission concluded that, through its conduct, Manchester City “clearly intended to circumvent” the Premier League rules.
City rejects commission’s findings
Meanwhile, Manchester City has rejected the commission’s findings and said it would appeal.
In a statement shortly released after Premier League’s confirmation, the club said it was “disappointed and surprised” by the commission’s opinion and maintained that it was innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League.
“Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission, that has been published today,” the club said.
“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.”
Manchester City said it would pursue all appropriate regulatory and legal avenues, adding that it believed the commission’s opinion contained clear material errors, of law, principle and fact”.
The club also said the Premier League process remained ongoing, with significant elements yet to be completed.
“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 said.
City also questioned the independence of the Premier League’s regulatory process, saying it had respected due process for eight years on the expectation that the League’s Board and Executive would act as an “independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator”.
The club said it was restricted in what it could say publicly while further proceedings were ongoing.
Sanctions still pending
Although the commission has found the charges proved, Manchester City has not yet been docked points, fined or relegated.
The Premier League said the issue of sanctions would be addressed separately at a further hearing before the independent commission.
Under the League’s rules, the commission has a range of sanctions available to it, including fines, points deductions and other sporting measures.
However, no specific punishment has been announced, and the club’s previous titles and results have not been overturned.
An Appeal Board has broad powers under the Premier League rules and can allow or dismiss an appeal or vary the commission’s order.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M