Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges of serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons, the league said in a statement on Tuesday.

City were charged in February 2023 with breaches of the league's financial rules spanning nine seasons following a four-year investigation. The club said in a statement it would appeal "on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe".

An independent commission found that City "arranged ‘sham’ contracts (which misrepresented the true agreement between the parties) with a number of its commercial partners," the league said.

The league added that the commission had found City used schemes “to artificially inflate the club’s revenues, and reduce its costs, by more than £900 million during the affected period, to appear to comply with financial rules."

“The core decision... details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade," said Richard Masters, the chief executive of the Premier League.

"There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches." City, who deny any wrongdoing, said they were disappointed and surprised by the commission's opinion.

"The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case," the club said.

“Manchester City FC will now 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.”

Source: Reuters

– Agencies