The Manchester City financial scandal rocks football. The English giants have been found guilty by an independent commission on all counts of breaching the Premier League's financial rules between the 2009/10 and 2017/18 seasons. What does the club say about this and what happens next? The most important questions and answers.
What exactly is it about?
The commission's results essentially relate to the years 2009 to 2018. During this time, Man City became English champions three times. The allegations range from false statements about finances and sponsorship income to incomplete information about coaches and players' salaries.
Man City is said to have artificially increased its income with the help of fictitious contracts with sponsors and at the same time reduced its costs. This is against English top flight rules. The commission estimated the effect of the model in the affected period at more than 900 million pounds (the equivalent of around 1.05 billion euros). The Premier League also accuses City of a lack of cooperation in the investigation.
The investigation was triggered by the revelations of the “Football Leaks” in “Spiegel”. After several years of investigation, the Premier League charged the club, which has belonged to Sheikh Mansour from the ruling family of Abu Dhabi since 2008, in February 2023.
What are the consequences for Manchester City?
Apart from the already huge damage to their image, the consequences for the 2023 Champions League winner cannot yet be foreseen. The penalties will be decided separately in a further hearing before the independent commission.
What penalties could there be?
The league boss has already made the extent of the scandal clear. Richard Masters described the proceedings and the decision as “the most important case in the history of the Premier League”. The minister responsible for sport in Great Britain, Lisa Nandy, also said that the case was “extremely serious”. “The Premier League’s report is shocking in its clarity.”
All of this speaks for tough sanctions. Manchester City could face a massive point deduction. Even exclusion from the Premiere League would be possible. It is also not ruled out that Man City will subsequently be stripped of their title. However, it is considered unlikely.
The Skyblues had already been punished in 2020 - back then by UEFA. The club was banned from European competitions for two years due to financial fair play violations. The International Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) lifted the ban and reduced a fine from 30 to 10 million euros. It remains to be seen whether City will now face additional hardship from UEFA. According to the Premier League, UEFA rules were also broken. The European Football Union has not yet commented on this.
What does Manchester City themselves say?
The ten-time English champion protests his innocence. Managing director Ferran Soriano claimed the guilty verdict was the result of “a Premier League conspiracy theory”. Man City announced in a statement that they would appeal. The decision contains “clear, significant errors in law, principles and facts” and is therefore unsustainable, it is said.
Club boss Khaldoon al-Mubarak had previously written to the fans. He sees City in the sights of opponents. There are “still many who want to undermine the growth of our club,” he wrote.
Who is affected?
In principle, all of the club's competitors have been affected for many years - some severely, some less severely. Today's national coach Jürgen Klopp experienced bitter defeats against City as coach of Liverpool FC. In 2011/12, Manchester United missed out on the championship thanks to a very late City goal from Sergio Aguero in a long-distance duel, which their local rivals won instead.
But teams that lost against the Skyblues and were therefore eliminated from a cup competition or relegated at the end of the season could also claim damages. In addition to the penalties imposed by the Premier League, City could face additional lawsuits.
Top German footballers also played at the club, which was taken over by star coach Pep Guardiola in 2016. Former national player Ilkay Gündogan was active for City for a long time. Leroy Sané also played there. The current coach of FC Bayern Munich, Vincent Kompany, also experienced the scandal years in Manchester as a player.
What other reactions are there?
Former city boss David Bernstein is calling for forced relegation. “If all of this is confirmed and the appeal fails, Manchester City cannot stay in the Premier League. “The club must receive a severe penalty that will remove it from the Premier League,” Bernstein told the British broadcaster BBC. “The sanctions must not be limited to money. “Money doesn’t mean much to the owners from Abu Dhabi,” said Bernstein. The 83-year-old led the club as chairman from 1998 to 2003.
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane also reacted in shock. “If I were a player, I would 100 percent throw these medals in the trash. Of course you would - it's cheating," Keane said on British broadcaster ITV Sport, adding: "They knew they would hurt a lot of people, but they did it anyway."
