Premier League confirms Manchester City financial rule findings; sanction still to come

Manchester City has been found guilty of all Premier League financial rule breach charges covering the 2009-10 to 2017-18 seasons, the league confirmed on 29 September after publishing an independent commission’s findings in England. The decision establishes the commission’s findings in the long-running case, but the club disputes them and its sanction has yet to be decided.

The distinction matters for supporters and other clubs awaiting the outcome: the finding concerns how City reported its finances during nine seasons, while a separate process will determine what penalty, if any, follows. City has said it will pursue an appeal and maintains that it is innocent of the accusations.

What the commission found about City’s finances

According to BBC Sport’s account of the published findings, the commission concluded that City used ‘sham contracts’ with commercial partners to disguise funding and artificially inflate revenue while reducing costs. The report describes a disguised funding scheme on a scale of £830.69m. Those are findings attributed to the commission, not a figure for a fine or a sanction already imposed.

The BBC reported that, across three seasons in which City won the Premier League, the club recorded £360m in sponsor fees. The commission found only £43m of those fees was legitimate, according to the BBC’s account, with the remainder coming from the club’s owners under the guise of sponsorship. The report also described conduct intended to circumvent league rules.

BBC Sport said the commission’s documentary record was extensive: its index alone exceeded 750 pages, while a core bundle ran to many tens of thousands of pages. The league’s published account sets out the commission’s conclusions, but a charge-by-charge explanation of every finding is beyond the findings described in the reporting cited here.

How the Premier League case reached this point

The Premier League charged City in February 2023 after investigating the club’s financial reporting. The Guardian reported that the allegations covered several areas, including the accuracy of financial information, profitability rules, remuneration disclosures and cooperation with the investigation. Those categories describe the original case; the commission’s finding must be stated according to the charge groups the league has now confirmed.

A hearing began in September 2024. Reports that City had been found guilty of most charges emerged on 25 September 2026, but the league had not then publicly confirmed the result. Its publication on 29 September changed that: readers can now distinguish a formally announced commission finding from the earlier reports of a confidential decision.

A previous European football case provides context but has a separate outcome. UEFA banned City from European competition in 2020 over financial fair play allegations, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned that ban on appeal. That ruling does not decide the Premier League’s present case, which concerns the league’s own rules and commission process.

City’s response and the next decisions

City said after the publication that it was ‘disappointed and surprised’ by the commission’s opinion. In the statement reported by BBC Sport, the club said it was innocent, argued that the opinion contained errors and said it would pursue the appeal avenues available to it. The club also said important parts of the Premier League process remained unfinished.

Before the league published the findings, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak told supporters that the club’s confidence in proving its innocence remained strong. Sky Sports reported his 26 September message and his explanation that confidentiality prevented him from sharing more of the club’s case. His statement predates the published findings; the club’s later response directly contests the commission’s opinion.

BBC Sport reported that the Premier League will address a sanction at a further hearing before the independent commission, held privately under league rules. The Guardian reported that the league’s disciplinary rules allow measures including a fine, points deduction, suspension or expulsion. Those are available options, not a decision about City. The sanction and the result of any appeal remain unresolved.