Manchester City Verdict: The biggest bombshells from the Premier League ruling
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Independent commission found 114 of 115 charges proven over nine seasons.
- The disguised funding scheme involved about £900m in owner-linked funding.
- Sanctions are pending and Manchester City have until 2 October 2026 to appeal.
The commission concluded that City used what it described as a "disguised funding scheme" involving Abu Dhabi sponsors and the club's owner, Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), to artificially inflate commercial revenue and reduce reported costs by more than £900 million.
The Premier League said the club filed misstated accounts, concealed the true state of their finances from auditors and football regulators, and were significantly in breach of both Premier League and UEFA spending limits.
City deny wrongdoing and have announced that they will appeal, arguing that the commission's opinion contains material errors of law, principle and fact.
Importantly, no sporting sanction has yet been imposed. The question of punishment will be considered separately after the liability decision and will remain confidential until publication is permitted under the Premier League's rules.
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What the Manchester City financial verdict found
Reports following publication of the commission's redacted core decision say City were found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought against them.The Premier League's own statement does not use that numerical formulation, but confirms that all charges concerning serious financial breaches were upheld and that three of four alleged breaches relating to co-operation with the investigation were proven.
The findings cover the period from 2009/10 to 2017/18, when the commission concluded that City used a number of arrangements to present a stronger financial position than actually existed.
The Premier League said the club entered into commercial agreements that were "sham" arrangements, meaning they did not reflect the true agreement between the parties. The commission found that these arrangements artificially increased revenue and reduced costs, helping City appear to comply with financial regulations.
The commission also found that City submitted accounts that did not accurately represent their financial position and that the club subsequently committed multiple breaches of their duties to co-operate with the Premier League investigation.
The €1.11bn sponsorship figure at the centre of the case
One of the most significant findings concerns sponsorship income recorded between 2009/10 and 2017/18.City recorded £949.94 million in commercial sponsorship income from Abu Dhabi-linked sponsors over the nine-season period.
According to the commission's findings, only £119.25 million was actually paid by the sponsors as genuine base-fee payments.
The remaining £830.69 million was funded by ADUG, the group that owned City, and was recorded as commercial sponsorship revenue.
Manchester City Sponsorship Figures, 2009/10 to 2017/18
| Season | Recorded Sponsorship | Amount Actually Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2009/10 | £27.00m | £4.50m |
| 2010/11 | £41.25m | £12.75m |
| 2011/12 | £86.75m | £16.00m |
| 2012/13 | £121.75m | £16.00m |
| 2013/14 | £127.50m | £16.00m |
| 2014/15 | £123.20m | £16.00m |
| 2015/16 | £136.17m | £16.00m |
| 2016/17 | £140.59m | £11.00m |
| 2017/18 | £145.73m | £11.00m |
| Total | £949.94m | £119.25m |
Figures are based on the amounts cited in the independent commission's findings.
The difference between the recorded sponsorship income and the money actually paid by sponsors was central to what the commission called the Disguised Funding Scheme.The Premier League said the arrangements meant sponsors only paid part of the stated fees, with the remainder funded by ADUG. The commission concluded that the purpose was to artificially inflate City's revenues and reduce costs so that the club appeared to comply with financial rules.
Project Longbow and the Fordham Arrangement
Another major element of the findings relates to Project Longbow, launched by City in 2012 as a multi-strand effort to increase revenue and reduce losses.The commission accepted that many parts of Project Longbow were genuine and legitimate attempts to improve the club's finances.
However, it found that one part was not: the Fordham Arrangement.
Fordham was a third-party entity involved in acquiring City’s entitlement to revenue from players' image rights. The commission concluded that the arrangement was effectively a front funded by ADUG.
The findings stated that the arrangement had two important effects: it allowed owner funding to appear as operating income whilst also reducing the costs recorded by the club.
The commission found that approximately £24.5 million was wrongly recorded as operating income through the arrangement, whilst around £49.4 million of operating expenses were wrongly excluded.
These figures formed part of the wider calculation of how the arrangements distorted City's reported financial position.
The commission also examined hidden payments
The case was not limited to sponsorship revenue.The commission considered several remuneration arrangements involving payments made through third parties. Reporting on the redacted decision says three such arrangements involved approximately £8.87 million, £7.4 million and £0.5 million.
The commission found that payments had been structured in ways that meant they were not properly reflected in the club's official reporting.
The decision also contained severe criticism of evidence given by some City witnesses. Reporting on the judgment says the commission found that certain witnesses gave evidence they knew to be untrue and had therefore acted dishonestly. Several names and identities remain redacted from the published version of the decision.
A nine-year financial distortion
The Premier League said the combined arrangements artificially inflated City's revenues and reduced costs by more than £900 million over the affected period.A separate analysis of the published core decision calculated the overall profit-and-loss misstatement at approximately £921 million, once both overstated income and understated costs are considered.
The distinction matters because the Premier League's headline figure of more than £900 million covers the combined effect of the schemes, whilst the larger detailed figure represents the calculated accounting impact across income and expenses.
The commission also concluded that, had the agreements been reported accurately, City would have breached both Premier League and UEFA spending limits by a substantial amount.
The case took years to reach a verdict
The Premier League began investigating City in December 2018, before formally issuing its complaint under Section W of the league's rules in February 2023.The independent commission then held a 42-day hearing between September and December 2024.
The proceedings involved extensive documentary evidence and expert material. The commission said the verbatim transcripts of witness and expert evidence ran to approximately 7,000 pages, whilst detailed written submissions from the parties were also considered.
The Premier League subsequently published a redacted version of the commission's core decision on 29 September 2026.
The full decision and supporting appendices have not yet been made public in their entirety because confidentiality restrictions remain in place.
Manchester City will appeal the decision
City responded strongly to the commission's findings.In their official statement, the club said they were "disappointed and surprised" by the decision, maintained that they were innocent of the accusations and said they possessed extensive evidence supporting their position.
City also argued that the commission's opinion contained material errors of law, principle and fact, and said they would pursue the available appeal mechanisms.
The club have until Friday, 2 October 2026 to exercise their right of appeal.
The appeal is therefore an important part of the next stage of the case. The commission's findings represent a first-instance decision and remain subject to challenge through the Premier League's appeal process.
What happens to Manchester City now?
The immediate issue is not relegation or a points deduction, because no sanction has yet been announced.The Premier League says the sanction will be considered separately by the independent commission. Under the league's rules, the commission has a broad range of potential sanctions available, including fines, points deductions and other sporting penalties.
The exact punishment will therefore depend on the separate sanction process and any outcome of City's appeal.
That distinction is particularly important for supporters and rival clubs: the finding of liability has been published, but the final sporting consequences have not.
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