Man City found guilty of majority of 115 charges by Premier League

Manchester City have been found guilty of the majority of the 115 charges relating to breaches of the Premier League 's financial rules over a nine-season period.

An independent commission, which was appointed following a four-year investigation to rule over the charges which stretch between 2009 and 2018, ruled that the current Premier League leaders had "sham contracts" arranged for a number of its commercial partners.

The findings also detail how City "relied on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs," while the club reacted to the verdict by underlining they were "disappointed and surprised by the opinion."

And while sanctions are yet to be decided, the verdict, which was widely reported last Friday, has now been confirmed.

A Premier League statement read: "An independent Commission has found Manchester City FC guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a 9-season period, and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League's investigation.

"The independent Commission found that Manchester City arranged 'sham' commercial deals with a number of its sponsors during the period, which were part of a disguised funding scheme, whereby those companies were only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees."

Manchester City had until Friday, 2 October to appeal, but confirmed in a statement that they will "pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe."

The Premier League released a 40-page document with details surrounding the case, concerning the hearing dates from 16 September to 31 October 2024, titled: "The Football Association, Premier League Limited and Manchester City Football Club Limited."

City have been accused of not acting in "utmost good faith" while also failing to "provide a true and fair view of the Club's financial position."

While the independent commission also found that "the club made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation" and "breached duties of co-operation."