Manchester City financial scandal: Club found guilty of 'sham' contracts and massive breaches of Premier League rules

James Robson and Steve Douglas September 30, 2026 - 8:26am Manchester City has been found guilty of arranging "sham" contracts as part of a slew of financial breaches that helped it dominate English soccer in what'sbecome the biggest scandal in Premier League history. City, in an independent panel's verdict.

City's alleged financial wrongdoing was worth in excess of £900 million ($1.7 billion), and Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the ruling showed City "systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade." "This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history," Masters said. City now faces severe sanctions that could include a huge points deduction or even expulsion from the league, causing severe reputational damage to its Abu Dhabi ownership.

The Premier League said sanctions would be decided in a separate hearing held by the independent commission. Manchester City Players after winning the English Premier League in 2024.

AP City has always denied wrongdoing and said in a statement that it was "disappointed and surprised" by the ruling. It also planned to further drag out the case that has already run for more than three years by appealing the verdict, and said it would be "relentless" in its fight to clear its name.

Any appeal by City would have to be made by Friday, the league said."

The explosive ruling comes after it emerged last week that the charges against City were expected to be upheld following an exhaustive process.

The Premier League initiated its case more than three years ago after allegations arose in 2018 from leaked club emails and documents. City was accused of a raft of financial violations from 2009-2018 - a period when the north-west club, long in the shadow of great rival Manchester United, was transforming itself into a record-breaking global superpower that won multiple Premier League titles and the Champions League.

The Manchester City club logo on a corner flag before an English Premier League match. AP The violations included failing to provide accurate financial information and submitting inflated figures for sponsorship deals out of Abu Dhabi, hiding payments and breaching financial rules established by the Premier League and UEFA, European soccer's governing body, intended to keep clubs financially stable by not spending beyond their means.

On top of that, City faced many other charges of failing to cooperate with the investigation between 2018-23. "An independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a nine-season period," the league said, "and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to cooperate with the league's investigation." Regarding the sponsorship deals, the league said: "Manchester City arranged 'sham' contracts (which misrepresented the true agreement between the parties) with a number of its commercial partners, as well as relying on 'sham' agreements with others, to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs.