Manchester City have been found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules on 114 of the 115 charges brought against them, in a verdict that threatens to overshadow Enzo Maresca’s first months as the club’s new head coach.
The independent commission’s ruling, confirmed by the Premier League this week more than three years after the case was first referred. It centres on £949.94m of income City booked from Abu Dhabi sponsors between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons, of which the sponsors themselves paid only £119.25m.
The remaining sum, understood to be in excess of £830m, is alleged to have come from the club’s owner, Abu Dhabi United Group.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the commission’s findings “details how the club systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade.”
The league added that an independent commission had found City guilty of all charges tied to serious breaches of its financial rules over a nine-season period, along with the majority of charges relating to a failure to cooperate with its investigation.
City responded defiantly. In a statement, the club said: “The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League.”
The club also described itself as “disappointed and surprised” by the commission’s verdict and said it would be “relentless” in pursuing an appeal. In a leaked video addressing staff, chief executive Ferran Soriano went further, dismissing the claims as a “conspiracy theory.”
City to lean on Abu Dhabi government argument in appeal
As first reported by the Daily Mail, City are expected to argue that it was officials from the Abu Dhabi government, rather than the club’s owners at Abu Dhabi United Group, who part-funded the sponsorship arrangements the Premier League has branded a “sham”.
The Mail’s report suggested City believe no rules were broken, since sponsorship deals funded by government-linked companies are not explicitly banned by the Premier League and are common practice elsewhere in football.
The club is also said to be relying on bank statements and witness accounts it regards as “irrefutable evidence” to support its case.
City’s defence throughout the hearing was that the sponsors always owed the full fees, but occasionally sought financial support from the Abu Dhabi government to help pay them, essentially the same argument now underpinning their appeal.
City have until Friday to lodge that appeal, which will be heard by a three-person Appeal Board including at least one member with judicial experience. Until that process concludes, any sanctions, which could range from a substantial fine to points deductions, remain undecided and will be determined at a separate hearing.
A new era, an old shadow, for Maresca
The timing could hardly be more awkward for Maresca, who succeeded Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium this summer after Guardiola’s near-decade in charge ended in May.
Maresca, who previously worked under Guardiola as part of City’s coaching staff before spells at Leicester and Chelsea, said on taking the job: “Manchester City is a club I know very well and to have the chance to manage this team is a brilliant opportunity for me.”
He now finds himself managing one of English football’s most successful sides while its off-field conduct faces the most serious censure in Premier League history.
Whatever sanction eventually follows, the club’s on-pitch fortunes under their new head coach will inevitably be viewed through the lens of a case that has hung over the Etihad for the better part of a decade.
