While the club continues to vehemently deny all the allegations and intends to appeal, the "Cityzens" now face consequences on an unprecedented scale.
What Manchester City Are Accused Of
The Premier League’s allegations cover a nine-year period, specifically from the 2009/10 to 2017/18 seasons. The charges essentially fall into the following categories:
Artificially inflated sponsorship revenue: City are accused of artificially inflating the value of sponsorship deals with companies from Abu Dhabi that have direct links to the club’s owner, in order to make their own revenue appear higher.
Concealed salary and contract costs: The club allegedly concealed the actual salaries of players and coaches. Payments made off the books during the tenure of former manager Roberto Mancini, for example, form a central part of the allegations.
False financial information & FFP breaches: The club is accused of failing to provide the Premier League and UEFA with accurate financial data.
Failure to cooperate: A significant part of the allegations concerns Manchester City’s refusal to cooperate fully with the Premier League’s multi-year investigation.
Manchester City has always maintained its innocence. When the charges were published in February 2023, the club said it was "surprised" and referred to a "comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence". Following the latest reports, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak reaffirmed in a letter to fans the club’s determination to prove its innocence during the ongoing proceedings.
Most Successful Decade in Club History
The significance of the case stems above all from the contrast between the legal allegations and the club’s sporting legacy. Before the takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group, led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in 2008, City had won just two league titles and nine trophies in total during its 128-year history. In the late 1990s, the club had even slipped into the third tier.
Middle Eastern investment quickly transformed the club into a global superpower. After the early signings of stars such as Robinho (2008) and Carlos Tévez (2009), players such as Yaya Touré, David Silva and Sergio Agüero later formed the foundations of the team. Agüero’s 94th-minute goal against QPR on the final day of the 2011/12 season remains unforgettable. It secured City’s first league title in 44 years.
The appointment of Pep Guardiola in 2016 ushered in an era of dominance. From 2017/18 to 2023/24, City won six of seven Premier League titles, including four in a row — a historic record.
In 2023, City crowned that era by winning the Champions League. The club matched local rivals Manchester United by winning the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in a single season. Most recently, City topped the Deloitte Money League for the first time in 2022 as the world’s highest-revenue club.
Since the takeover, City have won eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups, seven League Cups and the Champions League. But suspicions that these successes were built on financial misconduct now cast a long shadow over the era.
Titles Stripped and a Wave of Lawsuits?
What penalties could Manchester City face if the verdict is upheld after the appeals process? The range of potential sanctions is wide. Under the rules, the independent commission has the power to impose any penalty it considers appropriate. In theory, that explicitly includes stripping the club of titles retrospectively.
If the titles from the affected seasons, between 2009 and 2018, were retrospectively revoked and awarded to the runners-up, Manchester United could inherit two more Premier League titles, from 2012 and 2018. Liverpool would receive the 2014 title. Arsenal, Inter Milan and even current second-tier clubs Stoke City and Watford could also stand to benefit.
However, according to BBC reports, there is little appetite within the Premier League and among the clubs for titles to be stripped retrospectively. The league prefers sanctions that affect the future, as these are considered legally much safer.
More likely penalties are therefore thought to include massive points deductions, extremely heavy fines or, in the most extreme case, expulsion from the Premier League. If City were removed from the professional league system (EFL), even the lower-tier National League would have to decide whether to admit the club.
A ruling against City could trigger an avalanche of civil lawsuits from other English clubs. Former executive Christian Purslow, who worked at Liverpool and Chelsea, among others, warned that rival clubs had suffered massive financial damage as a result of City’s alleged rule breaches. Every league position is worth millions. Clubs that narrowly missed out on the Champions League or were relegated may have lost tens of millions.
According to reports, clubs such as Manchester United are already examining legal action to seek compensation for titles they missed out on and lost Champions League revenue. Purslow warned of years of litigation that could plunge English football into chaos.
Former players and experts such as Roy Keane and Ian Wright did not hold back in their criticism, accusing the club of fraud that had robbed competitors of historic moments. Legendary TV commentator Richard Keys even called for Manchester City to issue a public apology to English football as a whole.
The appeals process will take time, as there is no fixed timeframe. Former City chairman David Bernstein stressed the importance of resolving the matter swiftly so that the club does not have to play under this cloud of uncertainty for years. Whether Manchester City’s records remain in the history books or have to be rewritten now lies in the hands of the courts.