Man City guilty of all charges after £900m 'sham' contracts as Premier League publishes damning verdict

The Premier League has confirmed Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges of breaching financial rules over a nine-year period, with the club found to have boosted their income by a staggering £900 million through "sham" contracts.

A redacted 40-page "core decision" published on Tuesday revealed that City arranged disguised funding worth £830.6 million over nine seasons from 2009-10 to 2017-18, and hid a further £70 million in costs. The club were also found to have entered "sham" image rights deals with players and then-manager Roberto Mancini.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: "The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade. It also vindicates the Premier League's decision to pursue this case."

How did the scheme work?

The commission found that City's sponsors paid a "base sum" while Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) secretly paid a "tagged sum" on top. Only the base sum was genuine revenue, but City recorded the total as sponsorship income. Their lawyers argued the tagged sum was an Abu Dhabi government loan. The commission rejected that argument.

The purpose, the Premier League said, was "to artificially inflate the club's revenues, and reduce its costs, by more than £900m during the affected period, to appear to comply with financial rules."

The commission added: "The consequence of this was that the club filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators."

Did City witnesses lie?

Yes, according to the commission. "Evidence given by a number of important factual witnesses called to give evidence on behalf of the club was false in a number of key respects," the panel wrote, adding that some witnesses gave evidence "they knew to be untrue and so had been dishonest."

What have City said?

City will appeal before Friday's deadline "on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe."

CEO Ferran Soriano told staff in a video that the decision was based on "a Premier League conspiracy theory."

The club said: "Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion. The club is innocent of the accusations and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions. The club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums."

What punishment could follow?

Masters said: "We are committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process, to provide certainty for the league, our clubs and fans."

There is no direct precedent for breaches of this scale. But when Everton were docked 10 points for overspending by £19.5 million over one season, the tariff was six points for the initial breach plus one point per additional £5 million. City's disguised funding was £900 million over nine years. If a similar formula were applied, relegation would be virtually inevitable.

Hull's owner Acun Ilicali has described the situation as "financial doping." Other Premier League clubs are seeking legal advice over compensation claims.

The appeal is expected to run alongside a sanctions hearing. City cannot take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, unlike in 2020 when CAS overturned their UEFA ban.