Manchester City Found Guilty on 114 of 115 Premier League Financial Breach Charges

Manchester City have been found guilty on almost all of the 115 charges brought against them by the Premier League over breaches of financial rules, according to The Athletic.

The report says the English club are believed to have been cleared of just one of the charges. No punishment has been decided yet, and everything remains on the table, from a fine right up to a points deduction. City are expected to appeal once the outcome is made official.

According to the report, a City spokesperson responded carefully when asked about the claims.

“The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality,” the club said. “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.”

That February 2023 statement said City were “surprised” by the charges and that the club “welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.”

The case goes back to an investigation into City’s finances between 2009 and 2018. It started after the German outlet Der Spiegel published leaked documents from the club in November 2018.

The Premier League says City provided inaccurate financial information and breached both UEFA’s financial fair play rules and the league’s own spending rules. City have denied all of the allegations from the start.

Since Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group bought the club in 2008, City have won eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups, seven League Cups and one Champions League. Six of those trophies came after the charges were first brought.

City have been down this road before. UEFA banned them from European football for two years in February 2020 and fined them €30 million over the same Der Spiegel leaks, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport threw out the ban five months later.

CAS said the alleged breaches were either not proven or too old to punish under UEFA’s rules. City were still fined £8.8 million for failing to cooperate properly with the UEFA investigation, something CAS described as a serious failing.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has been asked about the delay in the case many times over the past three years. Last month, he admitted that the process had “taken longer than expected” but said the league had to let it run its course.

Back in January 2024, Masters told a UK parliamentary committee that a hearing date had already been set, although he would not say when it was.

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak also weighed in back in June 2024, calling for the league to soften its approach.

“I think the Premier League got to where it is today by being the most competitive league,” he said. “So, I hope there is a bit more sensibility in regulating.”

During the years covered by the charges, City won the league three times, the FA Cup twice, the League Cup four times and the Community Shield.

Last season, in Pep Guardiola’s final year as manager, they won a domestic cup double but finished behind Arsenal in the league. City also settled a separate dispute with the league over related-party sponsorship deals back in September 2025.

Guardiola signed a new contract in November 2024 that would have kept him at the club until 2027, and said at the time that he would stay even if City were relegated because of the case.

He ended up leaving in May anyway after 10 years in charge, and Enzo Maresca has since taken over.

Under Maresca, City have made a flying start to this season, winning all five league games so far to sit top of the table. They spent £450 million in the summer, including a British record-equalling £125 million deal for midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea.

As for what happens next, the Premier League’s own rulebook lists a wide range of possible punishments, from a simple warning or fine to a points deduction or even being thrown out of the league altogether.

A points deduction could be applied straight away or backdated, which has raised talk that City could lose past titles, though most legal experts think that is unlikely.

“I would expect that if there is a points deduction, it would be applied going forward,” said James Hill, a legal director at Onside Law who specialises in sports regulation. “Generally, panels don’t like deciding titles in a court process. Doing it that way does not give a real tangible punishment to the club.”

The rules also allow the panel to mix and match different punishments, or come up with something else entirely, as long as whatever they decide is seen as fair and in proportion to what City actually did wrong.

If not, City would have grounds to appeal.