Manchester City’s long-running financial case has entered a new phase, with the club filing a wide-ranging appeal against a ruling that found it responsible for serious breaches of Premier League financial regulations. From Manchester to Abu Dhabi, the dispute now reaches far beyond the domestic calendar, touching the funding model that accompanied City’s rise into one of Europe’s dominant clubs.
The appeal was lodged on Thursday night, before the deadline set by the competition. City said the independent commission’s decision was legally unsound and challenged both its factual and legal basis.
“The club’s firm position is that, for a number of reasons, the decision contains clear material errors of law, principle and fact, and is therefore invalid and legally unsound,” City said.
City have consistently denied wrongdoing since the investigation began in 2018. The Premier League’s case concerned alleged breaches between 2009 and 2018, during the period in which the Abu Dhabi-owned club developed into a major force in English and European football.
An appeal panel with a 12-week timetable
The chair of the disciplinary panel that reached the original verdict must now appoint a separate three-person appeal tribunal. At least one member of that tribunal must have judicial experience.
Under the competition’s rules, the appeal hearing must be completed within 12 weeks of the appeal being submitted. Hearings cannot run for more than five consecutive days.
A separate, confidential process will consider any punishment. No final sanction has yet been announced, and it remains unclear whether disciplinary measures could take effect before the appeal outcome.
Possible penalties under Premier League regulations range from a warning and financial sanctions to a points deduction or expulsion from the top flight. The latter would be unprecedented at this level of English football.
The league wants the case concluded as quickly as possible, but the appeal ensures that the eventual consequences remain unresolved.
More than 115 allegations at the centre of the case
The commission concluded that City committed systematic breaches over almost a decade. Richard Masters, the Premier League chief executive, described the matter as the most consequential disciplinary case in the competition’s history.
The findings covered more than 115 charges. Eighty related to financial irregularities between 2009 and 2018, while a further 35 concerned an alleged failure to cooperate with investigations from 2018 to 2023.
The case alleged that City artificially increased commercial income by more than $1 billion between 2009 and 2018 through non-genuine sponsorship arrangements. The alleged inflation of revenue was said to have enabled the club to work around Financial Fair Play restrictions while assembling a squad of world-class players.
That era underpinned the most successful period in City’s history. The club won eight English league titles between 2012 and 2024, establishing itself as a regular contender on the continental stage.
City again rejected the accusations, saying it remained innocent and possessed extensive, conclusive evidence in support of its position.
Abu Dhabi sponsorship funding is central to the dispute
The appeal is expected to focus heavily on the origin of money linked to Abu Dhabi commercial partnerships.
The investigation found that companies listed as sponsors from the emirate contributed £119.25 million, or about $158.4 million, of the £949.94 million in revenue recorded in the club’s accounts. The remaining £830.69 million, approximately $1.1 billion, was found to have been provided by Abu Dhabi United Group, the private company of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the United Arab Emirates ruling family.
City argued that Abu Dhabi United Group did not fund the sponsorship agreements. The club maintained that the Abu Dhabi government, which owns the companies involved, had made intermittent contributions and that there had been a misunderstanding over the source of the funds.
The commission rejected that explanation, judging it to be an account created after the event to conceal the real financing route.
Ferran Soriano, City’s chief executive, told staff in an internal video that the Premier League’s case rested on a false assertion. “The entire case against us is based on one false allegation: that the owner’s personal money was secretly injected into the club through Abu Dhabi sponsors,” he said. “That is simply untrue.”
English football authorities and Parliament respond
The Football Association said the ruling carried significant implications for the integrity of the game. English football’s governing body is examining the decision and its possible consequences, while declining further comment because the proceedings remain open.
The affair remains a sporting disciplinary matter rather than a criminal case, but it has also prompted political scrutiny. A cross-party parliamentary committee called on HM Revenue and Customs to examine the issues raised by the case.
Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the Treasury Committee, wrote to HMRC’s leadership noting the public importance of the matter. She said taxpayer confidentiality could limit what the authority was able to disclose, but asked HMRC to confirm that it understood the significance of the concerns and the public interest surrounding them.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham was also questioned about the ruling. The former Manchester mayor expressed concern that City’s owners might leave English football, describing them as a crucial partner in the development of modern Manchester and in City’s transformation into a global power. He said, however, that he would not intervene in the process.
Downing Street later stressed that the government regarded the decision as serious and that nobody could be considered above the rules. Its statement said that, if irregularities were confirmed, those responsible would have to face the appropriate consequences.
