Premier League report details Manchester City financial allegations
A 40-page report by the Premier League’s independent commission makes extremely serious findings against Manchester City, using the word “sham” as many as eight times. The report omits the names of several witnesses and officials for now.
Manchester City has been accused of 114 financial charges, including deliberately falsifying its accounts and misleading the competition, its rivals and football authorities. The club maintains that it is innocent. Manchester City CEO Ferran Soriano described the allegations by saying, “it is all a conspiracy”.
Abu Dhabi United Group, which has owned Manchester City for the past 18 years, reportedly understood that increasing the club’s sponsorship income was central to establishing the team among Europe’s elite. The strategy emerged as UEFA and the Premier League prepared to introduce financial fair play rules around 2010, according to the BBC.
How Manchester City’s alleged Covert Financing Plan worked
For almost a decade, the so-called “Covert Financing Plan” allegedly concealed approximately €1 billion in sponsorship funding. The report’s central claim is that Manchester City’s owners, rather than the sponsors, paid most of the sponsorship money or part of the salaries of players and coaches.
Beginning in 2010, Manchester City allegedly divided sponsorship agreements into two components: a base fee paid by the sponsors and an additional payment contributed by the club’s wealthy owners. That arrangement would have provided funds for, among other purposes, the recruitment of prohibitively expensive players.
According to the Premier League, the arrangement “gave the misleading impression to third parties (including the regulators and their auditors) that its commercial revenues from sponsorship agreements were much, much greater than they really were and from time to time they modified it to facilitate the ongoing concealment and avoid difficult questions”.
The alleged difference reached as much as €125 million in 2017. Manchester City declared €11 million in sponsorship income that year, while the report says the actual figure was €134 million. Across the nine years examined, sponsors are estimated to have paid €119.25 million, while Manchester City allegedly presented the figure as €1.111 billion—almost ten times higher.
Examples cited in the independent commission report
The report includes examples drawn from private witness statements gathered during the investigation. One concerns a front company called Fordham, which was also involved in other legal activities under the name Project Longbow. Fordham was allegedly used to acquire players’ image rights from Manchester City at a highly inflated price.
The arrangement allegedly obscured the true source of the funds and brought additional money into the club as operating income. The report says approximately €30 million was brought in and a further €55 million was excluded from expenses, “all erroneously,” but with the “knowledge and approval of the club,” according to the ruling.
A second example involves multi-million-pound contracts for players and coaches. The report alleges that these agreements were omitted from the accounts and that salaries were paid through third parties, with the money once again coming from Manchester City’s owners. Three separate cases are linked to this issue, although the names have been omitted from the document for now. The total amount is close to €20 million.
The report says this “was recorded in a consultancy contract” and “concealed the true extent of the club’s responsibilities,”.
Manchester City appeal deadline and next steps
Manchester City has the right to appeal the findings of the independent commission. The club has until Friday 2 October to decide whether to exercise that right.
The Premier League Board wants the complete process—including any appeals and the publication of the relevant decisions—to conclude as soon as possible. The eventual outcome will therefore depend on whether Manchester City appeals and how that process is resolved.
Why This Matters
The case concerns the reliability of financial information submitted by clubs during the period in which UEFA and the Premier League were introducing financial fair play rules. The report’s allegations focus on whether sponsorship figures and player and coach payments accurately reflected the money provided by commercial partners and the club’s owners.
The scale of the figures cited—particularly the alleged increase from €119.25 million in sponsor payments to €1.111 billion in reported sponsorship income—makes the findings significant for Manchester City, Premier League financial oversight and the enforcement of competition regulations. No final consequences are identified in the source beyond the club’s right to appeal and the Premier League Board’s intention to complete the proceedings quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Manchester City accused of?
Manchester City is accused of 114 financial breaches, including allegedly falsifying accounts, misleading the competition and its rivals, inflating sponsorship income and concealing payments linked to players and coaches.
How much sponsorship income is at issue?
The report estimates that sponsors paid €119.25 million over the nine years under investigation, while Manchester City allegedly represented the sponsorship income as €1.111 billion.
Can Manchester City appeal?
Yes. Manchester City has the right to appeal the independent commission’s findings and has until Friday 2 October to do so.