Highlights
- Manchester City have been found guilty on 114 of the 115 Premier League financial charges brought against them, first reported by David Ornstein of The Athletic
- The charges relate to alleged breaches between 2009 and 2018, including inaccurate financial reporting and undisclosed manager and player pay
- Sanctions have not yet been decided; City are expected to appeal
- The verdict lands while City sit top of the Premier League table, unbeaten after five games under new head coach Enzo Maresca
Manchester City have been found guilty on all but one of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League, in a verdict that took almost two years to arrive — and lands at the exact moment the club looks least like one in crisis.
What City were found guilty of
The charges, first laid in February 2023 after a four-year Premier League investigation, cover alleged breaches between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. They include failing to provide accurate financial information for nine seasons, failing to disclose full details of manager and player remuneration — including former manager Roberto Mancini's pay — for six seasons, and failing to cooperate fully with the Premier League's investigation between 2018 and 2023. An independent commission heard the case over ten weeks between September and December 2024, but took a further 21 months to deliver its verdict.
What happens next
Sanctions have not yet been decided. Under Premier League rule W.51, the possible penalties range from a reprimand or fine through to a points deduction or, in the most severe scenario, expulsion from the league. Any points deduction could theoretically be applied retrospectively, raising the prospect — however unlikely in practice — that some of City's past titles could eventually be called into question. Manchester City are expected to appeal the finding, meaning the case is far from over.
The club's statement, issued to The Athletic, struck a defiant note: "The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality. As such Manchester City FC's position remains consistent with the club's statement of February 2023. The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair minded regulator, free from partisan influence."
The timing nobody saw coming
When these charges were first laid in 2023, Pep Guardiola was still manager and City were mid-dynasty. Today, Guardiola is gone, Enzo Maresca is in charge, and City sit top of the Premier League table with a perfect record of five wins from five games. The verdict arrives not as City are reeling, but at the exact moment they look strongest — a mismatch that's already drawing comment across football, with pundits half-joking that City could theoretically top the table and face relegation-level sanctions in the same season.
Since the takeover by Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008 that transformed City from mid-table also-rans into English football's dominant force, the club has won eight Premier League titles and a first Champions League, in 2023. Whatever sanction eventually follows this verdict, it will land on a club currently playing better, not worse, than at almost any point since the charges were first brought.
