Will Manchester City be deprived of championship titles due to financial fraud

“Manchester City” was the subject of proceedings for fraud in order to circumvent the rules of “financial fair play”. An independent commission of the English Premier League found the club guilty on 114 of 115 counts. We are talking about violations committed between 2009 and 2018.

The hearings of the independent commission started in September 2024 and ended in December of the same year. The decision became known after almost two years.

And the reason for the investigation was a series of articles in the magazine Spiegel, prepared in conjunction with the project Football Leaks. In November 2018, Spiegel published emails from hacked Manchester City executives collected by Portuguese hacker Rui Pinto. From them it followed that Manchester City deliberately violated the financial rules of the Premier League and UEFA.

Manchester City maintain their innocence and intend to appeal the commission's decision. According to Sky Sports, the club has 14 days. The appeal, if filed, will have to be considered by the new commission.

“The process is far from over,” said Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, according to the club’s press service. Our confidence and determination to prove the club’s innocence are as strong as they were at the beginning of this case.

“I would like to share many things with you to help you understand why we are so confident in our position. But the strict confidentiality of the trial and our commitment to it prevents me from doing so now. Even this letter has gone through several legal checks to make sure it meets the requirements, Mubarak said.

In September 2008, on the closing day of the summer transfer window, Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) acquired Manchester City for £200m. The group, led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family), acquired 90% of the club from the infamous former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The new owners immediately - right on the closing day of the transfer window - bought Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5m.

Since then, Manchester City has become a major player in the transfer market, rewriting several Premier League records.

In 2013, Manchester City came under the management of the City Group, which owns clubs around the world. The group is owned by ADUG (81%), American Silver Lake (18%) and Chinese firms China Media Capital and CITIC Capital (1%).

What was accused of Manchester City

8 alleged violations of the rules relate to the salary of Italian coach Roberto Mancini (2009-2013).

The club is accused of violating rules requiring "full remuneration information to the coach.".

According to Spiegel, Mancini received an annual salary of £1.45 million from Manchester City. He was paid an additional £1.75 million a year as a consultant to the Abu Dhabi-based Al Jazeera club, to which he was to devote only four days a year.

Mancini’s Italy International Services (IIS) billed quarterly accounts to City Group, which transferred the money to ADUG, which in turn passed them to Al Jazeera for payment.

ой12 episodes are related to player pay.

The club violated the requirement to "state full details of players' remuneration in their respective contracts with them." The two irregularities that the commission found proved were recorded in each season from 2010/11 to 2015/16.

For example, according to Der Spiegel, to pay part of the salary of midfielder Yaya Toure, the club signed two contracts between the offshore company DS Management Ltd, owned by the then agent of the footballer Dimitri Selyuk, and ADUG (not Manchester City, as was usually done). The contracts regulated the use of the player's image and set payment schedules: first £3.45 million, then £4 million.

the 50 charges relate to the concealment of income information for nine seasons.

The club did not provide any information on sponsorship revenue for the period from 2009/10 to 2017/18. According to the commission, most of the money was paid by ADUG, not the sponsors themselves.

Two major sponsorship agreements during these periods were signed with Abu Dhabi state-owned companies: Etisalat (telecommunication) and Etihad (air transportation). According to the UEFA Disciplinary Committee, as part of a two-year sponsorship agreement (2012-2013), Etisalat paid only £1.5 million, the remaining £15 million to ADUG.

Etihad also paid a total of £8m on sponsorship contracts worth £35m, £65m and £67.5m in the 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2015/16 seasons, according to UEFA. And the rest came from ADUG.

Based on these data, UEFA suspended Manchester City for two years from participating in European competitions and fined €30 million.

However, the CAS soon reversed that decision. Under agreements with Etisalat, the arbitration overturned the penalty due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. And in the case of Etihad's contracts, most court members concluded that there was not enough evidence to support the charges.

30 applications for non-cooperation and obstruction of investigation

The indictment alleges that Manchester City violated rules requiring the club to "cooperate with and assist the Premier League in investigations, including by providing documents and information.".

This is not the first time City have faced such accusations. Earlier in 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) fined Manchester City €10 million for "obstructing" UEFA investigations.

The remaining charges relate to the profitability and sustainability rule (PSR)

Under the PSR rule, the club's total loss over three years should not exceed £105 million, and Manchester City have repeatedly breached this rule through fictitious sponsorship contracts, overstated transfer revenues and understated spending.

Suspicious championship match

Manchester City won the title for the first time in 44 years on May 13, 2012. In the last match, he met at home with the struggling Queens Park Rangers (CPR). The hosts needed a victory, the guests - a draw or failure of the nearest pursuer of Bolton.

By the break, the wards of Roberto Mancini led 1-0, but in the second half the situation changed. By the 92nd minute, City lost 1-2. With this result, the title would have gone to Manchester United, who by that time had already finished their match and began to celebrate the victory. But then something unthinkable happened. City scored two goals in 1.5 minutes and eventually won the meeting. The author of the championship goal was Sergio Aguero.

“Queens Park Rangers” in the last minutes of the match already knew that he would remain in the Premier League even in case of defeat. Many drew attention to the fact that Queens Park Rangers after the second missed goal almost succumbed to the opponent. This was subsequently recalled by the chief judge of the meeting Mike Dean on a talk show with Wayne Rooney (in the 2011/12 season he played for United).

Dean: When Queens Park Rangers found out he was safe...

Exactly. I know what you're going to say.

Dean: With a score of 2:2, the CRC seems to have already celebrated... 2-2 in the final minutes - just give the ball back to pull the game. But Jamie Mackie (CPR player) instead gave the ball to an opponent after a draw from center... And I thought, what's going on here? Why did they return the ball to their opponent? I heard the same question from a colleague in the headphone.

Rooney: There were many former City and Liverpool players in the CRC. And (City pupil) Joey Barton made a good present for them (his home club).

Dean: Yeah, that was really weird.

Rooney: Afterwards, Barton admitted celebrating the win alongside City.

Dean: I think this will never happen again. The champion was determined by the last blow of the whole season. I still can't understand why Mackie didn't kick the ball back after the draw. I just can't understand it. I don't know.

This game has raised questions over the years. So it's no surprise that news of City's financial irregularities has rekindled social media discussion about whether everything was clean with that match. However, no formal charges have been made against the club.

What sanctions threaten Manchester City

After the decision on the merits, an independent commission will have to determine the punishment. The potential range of sanctions is quite wide. Among the possible measures are a large monetary fine, withdrawal of points, deprivation of titles, restrictions on transfer activities, exclusion from the Premier League, deprivation of professional status.

Former Manchester City chairman (1998–2003) and head of the Football Association (FA) (2011–2013) David Bernstein predicted that the club would face “a very severe penalty”. In his opinion, only a monetary penalty is not enough, "something more radical is needed, unfortunately.".

Bookmakers opened special lines on the possible consequences of the proceedings. At the time of publication, the lowest coefficient is set for the withdrawal of points next season - 2.75. The withdrawal of points in the current season is estimated with a coefficient of 3.50.

Lawyer Ian Hargreaves told Reuters the sanctions could range from a transfer ban to expulsion from the league. At the same time, according to him, one of the key questions will be how the punishment will correspond to violations.

Sports lawyer James Hill believes it is unlikely to revise the results of the completed championships. “As a rule, colleges do not like to determine titles in court. This approach does not involve a real, tangible penalty for the club, Hill told The Athletic.

“I expect that if the points are removed, then this will apply in the future,” he added.

Under Rule W.51.7, the panel may combine any number of penalties set forth in the set of rules or impose such other sanctions as it deems appropriate. However, any punishment must be commensurate with the violations, otherwise it may be overturned on appeal.

There are already precedents for applying sports sanctions for financial irregularities in English football. In the 2023/24 season, Everton lost a total of eight points for two violations of the rules of profitability and financial sustainability. Nottingham Forest received a four-point penalty.

The Manchester City case differs from these cases by the length of the period in question and the number of episodes in which the club is found guilty.

The size and nature of the punishment will be determined by an independent commission. Her decision can also be appealed. Therefore, when the process will be put to a point, now it is difficult even to guess.

Who will win if Manchester City loses their titles

What titles Manchester City won in 2009-2018

Champions of England (2011/12, 2013/14, 2017/18)

FA Cup (2010/11)

FA Super Cup (2012)

English League Cup (2013/14, 2015/16, 2017/18)

If the independent commission goes the way of depriving Manchester City of titles, then six clubs will be on the lists of contenders for trophies at once.

Potential winners in case of review of City results

Premier League

2011/12: Manchester United

2013/14: Liverpool

2017/18: Manchester United

FA Cup

2010/11: Stoke City

English League Cup

2013/14: "Sunderland"

2015/16: Liverpool

2017/18: Arsenal

Super Bowl

2012/13: Chelsea

Why title loss is not the worst outcome

Manchester City could face legal action for compensation totaling more than £1 billion, The Times reported. Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham sent legal notices to Manchester City back in 2024, reserving the right to seek compensation if the club is found guilty of serious wrongdoing.

The compensation notices were handed out after lawyers informed the four clubs of a possible six-year statute of limitations that would expire on 5 November 2024 (six years after Spiegel first published allegations against Manchester City).

Manchester United have already assessed the club's losses due to City's success. In particular, we are talking about three second places in the Premier League after City and the lost right to play in the Champions League in the 2015/16 season, reports The Athletic.

There has already been a precedent for such lawsuits. Earlier, an independent commission of the Premier League ordered Everton to pay compensation for Burnley in the amount of almost £40 million. She concluded that the Merseyside club gained a sporting advantage by breaking financial rules in the 2021/22 season. “Burnley” that season was relegated from the Premier League, and “Everton” retained residence in the league.

Former Aston Villa CEO Christian Purslow warned the legal action situation could "get out of hand." “The question is how this will end. Because if you look at each of the nine seasons in which we now know Manchester City broke the rules, all 19 of their Premier League rivals suffered, to varying degrees, easily quantifiable losses that season.

Purslow, who has also held senior positions at Liverpool and Chelsea, added that the "ongoing stream of lawsuits" could have a negative impact on English football due to uncertainty.