Manchester City found guilty on 114 Premier League rule break charges – and could be kicked out of the top flight or face huge points deduction

Manchester City have been found guilty of all but one of their 115 rule-break charges concerning the Premier League’s financial regulations.

The competition accused the club of widespread financial cheating over an era of sustained success – with an independent panel hearing concluding in 2024.

There has since been a frustrating wait for a verdict but sources have disclosed that clubs have been informed that the panel has now reached a decision – and there is a belief it’s a win for the top flight.

The verdict could lead to a variety of punishments including huge deductions and even relegation. It is inevitable that they will appeal.

A Manchester City spokesperson said: ‘The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality. As such Manchester City FC’s position remains consistent with the Club’s statement of February 2023.

The Club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.’

Man City, who have always strongly denied wrongdoing, were charged in February 2023 by the Premier League with a hearing concluding in December 2024. 

The Premier League accused Man City of multiple breaches of financial rules and of failing to co-operate with a subsequent investigation. The alleged rule breaking was claimed to have taken place over a 14-year period. 

A three-man panel was tasked with considering the evidence, with the initial expectation a verdict would have been reached on the case within months. It has since taken three-and-a-half years. 

The original 115 charges were extended to a total of 130 after an administration issue in what is the most expensive and wide-ranging case in English football history.

City remained steadfast in maintaining their innocence over more than 115 alleged breaches across eight years, some including the start of the Pep Guardiola era.

The club were accused of failing to report accurate financial information for nine seasons stretching from 2009-10 to 2017-18, as well as failing to provide full details of former manager Roberto Mancini’s pay between 2009-10 and 2012-13.

They were also alleged to have failed to provide full details of money paid to players between 2010-11 and 2015-16 and failing to co-operate with the probe from 2018 to 2023.

Between the years mentioned, Manchester City won eight Premier League titles, a Champions League, four FA Cups, and seven EFL Cups. 

In 2022 Guardiola said he would quit the club if he felt the club’s hierarchy had ever lied to him. The next year, he said he would not walk out on his deal, even if he was relegated to League One.  

Guardiola always insisted he was ‘fully convinced’ that the club is innocent and said in May: ‘I trust them, I trust them. Because I spoke with them and I trust how they behave and how they did.’

City vehemently denied any breaches of financial rules but the investigation started in December 2018 after German website Der Spiegel published documents from a Football Leaks cache which had originated from Portuguese hacker Rui Pinto.

It alleged that City had overstated sponsorship income with money paid from the club’s owners instead of sponsors linked to Abu Dhabi.

Roberto Mancini’s wages were said to have doubled via a secret contract with an Abu Dhabi club when he was at Man City, while they were also alleged to have broken rules over approaching young players.

The Mail on Sunday has led the way on reporting the story. In July 2021, they reported on emails that appeared to suggest that Man City had millions funnelled into the club by Abu Dhabi to help inflate their income.

Back in February 2020, the club were banned from the Champions League and fined £25million after they were found to have seriously misled European footballing governing body UEFA and broken financial fair play rules.

This was then lifted by the court of arbitration for sport which also reduced the club’s fine to £9m.

City spent £440million over the summer, equalling the British transfer record by signing Enzo Fernandez for £125m, and their former chairman David Bernstein claimed that ‘makes a mockery’ of the Premier League’s regulation of the top division.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Bernstein said: ‘The fact they have done this (transfer spend) against the background of the 115 Premier League charges is extraordinary and makes a mockery of regulation in England’s top division, supposedly the best-run league in the world.’ 

It was a bumper summer for City after the exit of Guardiola. They also signed Elliot Anderson (£116m), Ayyoub Bouaddi (£86m), Iliman Ndiaye (£60m), Allan and Geronimo Rulli. 

Other marquee signings down the years have included Jack Grealish for £100m, Erling Haaland for £51.2m, Josko Gvardiol for £77.6m, and Riyad Mahrez for £60m. 

Four Premier League sides had reserved the right to seek compensation in the event City were found guilty.

Speaking to the BBC in August, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters described the case as ‘hugely complex’ as he defended the length of time taken to reach a conclusion.

‘I do accept it is taking longer than expected and I understand that people want to find out as soon as possible what’s going on, but I simply can’t provide that,’ he said. 

‘The process is the process,’ he said. ‘It will resolve itself. But as you know, I literally can’t say a thing about it. There’s only one available option, which is to allow the process to reach its natural conclusion. I can’t talk about the substance of the case. I can’t talk about the timing of the case. Our rules are very clear about that. I understand that people are frustrated but it will take as long as it takes.’

The Premier League’s latest domestic broadcast deal has seen the amount paid per game fall by around £2.5m.

Some have wondered if that is an indicator that fans are getting fed up of various litigations, with Nottingham Forest, Everton and Leicester City docked points in recent times.