🚨 MAJOR BREAKING: Premier League confirm 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, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
The club has the right to appeal the independent Commission’s findings and has until Friday 2 October to exercise that right.
The Premier League Board’s intention is that the full process (including any appeals and publication of relevant decisions) is concluded as soon as possible.
The independent Commission found that between Seasons 2009/10 and 2017/18:
- 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
- The club filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators
- Manchester City was significantly in breach of both the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits
- During the Premier League’s investigation, Manchester City committed multiple breaches of its duties of co-operation and utmost good faith towards the League (three of the four alleged breaches were upheld)
🚨 Official: Manchester City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak statement.
“I have been part of this Club for 18 years. I have had the privilege to stand with you in the Etihad, at Wembley, and in Istanbul. This Club matters to me, and you have shown and told me – time and time again - how much Manchester City matters to you. This is why I am writing to you today”.
“Following Friday’s media reporting, many of you will have spent your evening answering questions and responding to messages from friends, family and colleagues. So have I”.
“Here’s what I said to my family: The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the Club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began”.
“There are so many things that I would like to be able to share with you to help you understand why we feel so confident in our position. But the strict confidentiality of the legal process and our determination to respect it means I cannot do that at the moment. Even this letter underwent several legal checks to make sure it complies”.
“I ask you to please carefully read the statement below, which we gave on Friday, and the statement we issued in February 2023 (also below). Every word matters and holds true”.
“While some people have been quick to reach their own conclusions, and there is so much noise swirling around us, nothing has changed. We have faced challenges together before and have prevailed. There remain many who want to undermine the momentum of our Club. We will not give them that opportunity”.
“We have some exciting moments to look forward to after this international break. We travel to Anfield in a fortnight, and then host Paris St Germain in the Champions League back at Etihad Stadium - moments that give us an opportunity to celebrate the strength of the Manchester City family”.
“Thank you, as always, for your constant support. Khaldoon Al Mubarak”.
Rodri: “What we did, they cannot take it out of us. It's something that is not paid by money. It's paid with effort, with partnership, with being shoulder to shoulder every day…”
🎥 @BeanymanSports