Manchester City commission findings detail disguised funding; sanctions still to come

Manchester City faces an appeal and a separate sanctions hearing after the Premier League published an independent commission’s findings on 29 September. The commission found serious financial-rule breaches across nine seasons, from 2009/10 through 2017/18. The club disputes the decision, which sets out how the panel says its accounts overstated commercial income and understated costs.

The findings give detail to the guilty verdict reported last week. The commission upheld the serious financial charges and most of the charges concerning City’s cooperation with the league’s investigation, according to Sky Sports. One element of the non-cooperation case was not proven. The decision establishes the commission’s findings; it does not yet establish what penalty City will face.

What the commission found about sponsorship income

Sky Sports reports that City’s financial statements recorded £949.94 million in commercial income from Abu Dhabi sponsors over the nine seasons. The commission found that the sponsors themselves paid £119.25 million, while Abu Dhabi United Group, the club’s owner, supplied the remaining £830.69 million. The distinction matters because the accounts presented the money as sponsorship income rather than funding from the owner.

The commission described the arrangements as a disguised funding scheme, according to Sky Sports. It rejected City’s explanation that the sponsors were liable for the amounts in the accounts and sometimes sought financial support from the Abu Dhabi government. The panel concluded that the explanation had been developed after the event to obscure how the payments worked.

How the Fordham Arrangement affected the accounts

A separate arrangement involving player image rights also changed the figures presented in City’s accounts, the commission found. Sky Sports reports that the Fordham Arrangement overstated income by £24.5 million and understated expenses by £49.414 million. The panel called it ‘little more than a front’ for Abu Dhabi United Group and said it concealed the origin of funds entering the club.

The decision placed Fordham within Project Longbow, an effort to increase revenue and reduce operating losses. Sky Sports reports that the commission considered many parts of that project legitimate, but did not accept the Fordham Arrangement as one of them. It found the arrangement also allowed operating expenses to be removed from the club’s financial statements.

The commission found three further remuneration agreements, worth nearly £17 million, that were omitted from City’s accounts and paid by Abu Dhabi United Group, Sky Sports reports. The Premier League’s case covered financial reporting, disclosure of manager and player remuneration, and compliance with UEFA financial rules, according to EL PAÍS. Those issues formed part of the league’s case spanning nine consecutive seasons.

Manchester City’s response and the next hearing

City maintains its innocence. In a statement quoted by The Guardian, the club said the commission’s opinion contained material errors of law, principle and fact and was unsafe. Chief executive Ferran Soriano said the club would appeal and pursue other legal avenues. Sky Sports reports that City has until Friday, 2 October, to lodge its appeal.

The panel’s findings also addressed the investigation itself. Sky Sports reports that the commission heard evidence from 27 factual witnesses over 42 days in the final quarter of 2024 and examined a core bundle running to tens of thousands of pages. It found that some witnesses called on City’s behalf gave false evidence and that some knowingly gave untrue evidence. These are findings of the commission, which City contests as part of its wider rejection of the decision.

The Premier League charged City in February 2023, EL PAÍS reports. Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the case and decision as the most significant in the league’s history. He said the remaining process should move forward quickly, while stressing that sanctions must still be decided. The commission will address any sanction at a later hearing; the outcome of City’s planned appeal is also unknown.