Manchester City found guilty of serious financial breaches.

Manchester City has been found guilty of serious financial violations by an independent Premier League commission. The irregularities, identified over nine seasons between 2009 and 2018, include fictitious sponsorship contracts, falsified balance sheets, and breaches of spending limits. The aim was to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs by over £900 million to appear compliant with regulations.

The Premier League has described this proceeding as "the most significant in its history." The club has already announced that it will appeal by Friday, October 2nd, stating it is "disappointed and surprised" and maintaining its innocence. The penalty for these violations, which could include sporting sanctions in addition to financial ones, now remains to be determined.

The case stems from the Premier League's investigation launched in December 2018 into Manchester City's finances. The financial rules of modern football, known as Financial Fair Play, were introduced to ensure the economic sustainability of clubs and maintain the competitiveness of competitions. They limit spending based on actual revenue, preventing the wealthiest owners from subsidizing their teams without limits.

Manchester City, purchased in 2008 by the Abu Dhabi United Group, has been accused of circumventing these rules for nearly a decade through fictitious commercial deals that artificially inflated revenue. The independent commission, which operates autonomously from the Premier League, took years to investigate, also finding that the club obstructed the inquiries. This case represents the culmination of a long-standing confrontation between the wealthiest clubs and European football's regulatory bodies.