Manchester City are understood to have been found guilty of almost all 115 alleged breaches of Premier League rules.
The Times learned that the Premier League clubs were informed that a decision had been taken following the Premier League meeting on Thursday.
It is understood that Manchester City will appeal the decision, while the penalty has not yet been determined. If normal procedures are followed, it will be determined following a separate hearing, in the presence of representatives of both parties.
Possible sanctions could reach the point of expelling Manchester City from the English Premier League. Less severe penalties include relegation or a significant number of points deducted. Sports sanctions can also be accompanied by huge financial fines.
There is also the possibility of the club being stripped of Premier League titles in the seasons in which the violations occurred, but this is thought to be unlikely.
A Manchester City spokesman said: “The Premier League procedures are still ongoing, and there are important elements that have not yet been completed, and the process is subject to strict confidentiality. Accordingly, Manchester City’s position remains consistent with the club’s statement issued in February 2023.”
He added: “The club has carefully respected due process for eight years, on the basis that the English Premier League’s Board of Directors and its executive management will act as an independent, impartial and fair regulator, free from any biased influence.”
In February 2023, the English Premier League accused the club of committing 115 violations of its financial rules, the number of which eventually rose to 130 violations, after a four-year investigation that began in December 2018.
The accusations related to the financial reports relate to nine seasons, from the 2009-2010 season to the 2017-2018 season, and include failure to provide accurate financial information, failure to disclose full details of coach Roberto Mancini’s wages during the four seasons he spent at the club between 2009 and 2013, and failure to provide full details of the bonuses and salaries of players, including former midfielder Yaya Toure, during six seasons from 2010-2011. To 2015-2016.
Manchester City was also accused of not cooperating with the investigation, and of not handing over the required documents over five seasons, from 2018-2019 to 2022-2023.
When the accusations were made for the first time three and a half years ago, Manchester City said in a statement that it was “surprised... especially in light of the intense cooperation and huge amount of detailed materials that were provided to the English Premier League.” The club welcomes a review of this case by an independent committee, to consider impartially the comprehensive body of compelling evidence that supports its position.”
In February 2020, the European Football Association (UEFA) banned Manchester City from participating in European championships for two years, and imposed a fine of 30 million euros, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned that penalty in July of the same year.
The ruling issued against Manchester City may open the door for its competitors to demand compensation that may exceed 100 million pounds sterling for each club.
In 2024, four clubs, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur, sent legal notices to Manchester City, through which they reserved their right to demand compensation if the club was proven guilty of committing serious violations.
Sources involved in that process stated that some clubs calculated potential losses far exceeding 100 million pounds sterling, as compensation for not qualifying for the Champions League and other losses in revenue. The amount can rise to a much larger number when interest is calculated.
The compensation notices were sent after the four clubs received legal advice indicating the possibility of a six-year limitation period, starting from November 5, 2018, the day on which the German website “Der Spiegel” first published the “Football Leaks” documents that included the allegations related to Manchester City.
There is a recent precedent in this regard. An independent committee affiliated with the English Premier League ordered Everton to pay approximately 40 million pounds sterling to Burnley in compensation, after concluding that the club from Merseyside benefited from a sporting advantage as a result of violating the rules of profitability and sustainability.
Everton had guaranteed to remain in the league at Burnley's expense in the 2021-2022 season, and the club is appealing the compensation decision.
The ruling in the Manchester City case came at a time not early at all, with the English Premier League under increasing pressure due to the long period that the case took.
By December, it will have been eight years since officials first began investigating alleged rule violations. The disciplinary hearings, which lasted 12 weeks, ended in December 2024, while the highly confidential deliberations that followed led to an unprecedented period of uncertainty.
Manchester City competed with Arsenal for the league title last season, and is at the top of the English Premier League table this season under the leadership of its new coach, Enzo Maresca, and now realizes that it may be subjected to a huge points deduction.
Marisca's predecessor, Pep Guardiola, left the club at the end of last season, after ten years at his helm.
Manchester City continued to assert that it had “conclusive evidence” to refute the accusations against it, and spared no expense in enlisting the help of some of the most prominent legal minds to defend it.
The total legal cost to both parties is believed to have been around £100 million and counting.
While the identity of the members of the three-person independent committee remains secret, the identity of a number of senior lawyers involved in the case is known.
Manchester City's defense team was led by three of the King's senior legal advisers: Lord Pannick, Paul Harris, and Philip Marshall.
Banik previously represented Manchester City in the case during which the club succeeded in overturning the penalty of banning him from participating in European championships.
On the other hand, the English Premier League was represented by Adam Lewis, the King's Counsel, and Andrew Hunter, the King's Counsel and specialist in commercial disputes, fraud and sports disputes.
