Manchester City have been found guilty of breaching financial rules through a scheme that inflated their revenue by £830m over nine years. The charges mark the culmination of a long-running investigation into the club’s finances, and they could reshape the sport’s record books.
The club’s owners paid huge sponsorship fees that were recorded as commercial revenue, helping the team embark on an unprecedented era of spending. That spending brought titles, trophies and some of the world’s most expensive players through the door.
The Scheme at Its Core
City’s Abu Dhabi United Group owners paid sponsorship fees that were recorded as commercial revenue between 2009/10 and 2017/18. Those fees increased for four consecutive seasons, reaching £134.7m in 2017/18, up from £22.5m in 2009/10.
Over the same period, City’s £1.2bn worth of transfers amounts to roughly 70 per cent of the £830m that was wrongly entered as commercial income.
The allegations concern the time span covered by the probe, a stretch during which City claimed three English league crowns, effectively doubling their prior total. Across that same interval, they added an FA Cup, three domestic cup wins and a Community Shield to their collection.
What the Charges Cover
These accusations concern the takeover carried out by Sheikh Mansour, which came to an end in September 2008. Upon completion of the takeover, Manchester City held two top-flight titles across their 114-year history, with the most recent title secured four decades prior.
Three relegations had come during the Premier League era, with the club falling as far down as the third tier just 10 years prior. In that same span, the 16 Premier League crowns had all gone to Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Over the span of the probe’s nine years, Manchester City captured three English top-flight championships, which pushed their total well past double their earlier count.
The Spending Behind the Titles
Between the summer of 2009 and the 2018 January transfer window, the club spent £1.2bn on players, according to Transfermarkt data. That is nearly £300m more than next-highest spenders Chelsea on £931.7m.
The club spent more than any other team in the league across five of the nine seasons examined, ranking first for transfer spending in that period. It also led the way for net spend in six of those seasons, with City’s total of £888.2m far outstripping United’s figure of £513.1m.
During the period, the club brought in a succession of the world’s best players, beginning with their first title win in 44 years in 2011/12, which followed two seasons of heavy spending totalling £260.5m. That money bought the incomings of Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko, Yaya Toure, David Silva, Mario Balotelli and James Milner.
The four seasons that followed brought in Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri, Fernandinho, Jesus Navas and Eliaquim Mangala as the main new signings. Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling were among those added in 2015/16.
The most expensive campaign of the study occurred in 2017/18, during which City secured their third of the three Premier League crowns mentioned, having spent £282.5m on a group of players that included Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva and Ederson.
The Managers Who Won Them
During the same stretch, three top-tier bosses came through at City: Roberto Mancini, Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola.
The Weight of the Findings
Some want honours taken away, while possible punishments include fines, transfer bans and being thrown out of the Premier League.
The club reject any suggestion they did wrong and plan to fight the ruling. Ferran Soriano has described the proceedings as a “Premier League conspiracy theory”.
Jamie Carragher has said City should be stripped of titles.
Key Numbers
- Takeover completed: September 2008
- Last title before takeover: 44 years earlier
- Previous Premier League titles: two
- Title wins since takeover: three
- FA Cups, League Cups and Community Shields: five
- Transfer spending: £1.2bn
- Net spend: £888.2m
- Sponsorship fees recorded as revenue: £830m
- Fees increased for four consecutive seasons, from £22.5m in 2009/10 to £134.7m in 2017/18
The Road Ahead
City will challenge the findings at the appeals stage, with the sport’s record books hanging in the balance. A reversal could force changes to those records, since the honours would be stripped.
The findings put the club’s achievements, and the changing of football’s landscape, in a harsh new light.
The accusations are weighty, and the results could prove grave. At present, the team stays put, pressing its case against the ruling.
Here is a summary of the major figures involved in the probe:
- The club’s £1.2bn worth of transfers amounts to roughly 70 per cent of the £830m that was wrongly entered as commercial income.
- The £830m figure represents the total amount of sponsorship fees recorded as commercial revenue over the nine-year period.
- City’s £888.2m net spend far outstrips United’s figure of £513.1m across the period examined.
- The £134.7m fee reached in 2017/18 was up from £22.5m in 2009/10, the start of the period under examination.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs the public’s right to know exactly how the money behind Manchester City’s spending was used and is against any arrangement that lets owners hide behind inflated revenue figures without clear accountability. The charges reveal a scheme that pumped £830m of owner-paid sponsorship fees into commercial revenue over nine years, feeding £1.2bn of transfer spending. The paper wants transparency, not conspiracy theories.
The scheme worked for a decade, and the charges now show how it did. The paper is against arrangements that let owners inflate revenue without scrutiny, and it supports any process that brings the truth to light.
The road ahead is long. City will challenge the findings at the appeals stage, and the sport’s record books hang in the balance. Whatever happens, the paper will keep watching.
See the video the story is built around at Sky Sports.
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