Man City guilty of using 'sham' deals to distort finances, Premier League says

30-Sep-2026, 05:13 30 Sep 2026, 05:13 An independent commission found several sponsors paid only part of the agreed fees, with the balance supplied by the club's owner Abu Dhabi United Group. A significant punishment for Man City could affect past and future title races, European qualification and the distribution of tens of millions of pounds in prize money.

(EPA Images pic) LONDON: Manchester City used "sham" commercial contracts as part of schemes to inflate revenue and understate costs by more than £900 million over nearly a decade, the Premier League said on Tuesday after an independent commission ruled the club guilty of serious breaches of financial rules. The commission found City guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the league's financial rules over nine seasons, between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 campaigns, as well as three of four charges concerning their failure to co-operate with the investigation.

The club, which denies wrongdoing, said in a statement it would appeal "on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe". No sanction has yet been imposed, leaving unresolved the potential consequences for a club that has dominated English football over the past decade.

A significant punishment could affect past and future title races, European qualification and the distribution of tens of millions of pounds in prize money. The case has also raised wider questions about financial governance, competitive integrity and the Premier League's ability to hold its most powerful clubs to account.

'Sham contracts' An independent commission found that City arranged "sham" contracts that misrepresented the true agreements with several commercial partners and relied on similar agreements with others to inflate their revenue and reduce costs artificially, the league said. It found that several sponsors were required to pay only part of the fees recorded in the relevant agreements, with the balance supplied by the club's owner Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG).

The commission also identified arrangements funded by ADUG that allowed City to record lower operating expenses. The schemes inflated City's revenue and reduced their costs, creating the appearance that the club complied with financial regulations, the league said.

The report also found that a number of the club's witnesses presented false evidence at the hearing, which ran for 42 days, and some knowingly misled the commission. The commission concluded that City would have breached both the Premier League's and UEFA's spending limits "by a very substantial amount" had the agreements been reported accurately.

"The core decision… details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade," said Richard Masters, the chief executive of the Premier League. Masters described the case and decision as "the most significant in Premier League history" but said key elements remained unresolved, most notably the sanction to be imposed.

"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," he said. City to appeal City said they were disappointed and surprised by the commission's opinion.