Manchester City have been charged with breaking Financial Fair Play rules over a nine-year period, which started in 2009 and went on until 2018. They have also been charged with failing to co-operate with Premier League investigations into their finances.
When the Premier League charged City in 2023, its press release detailed alleged rules breaches that added up to 115 in number, but it is believed that the actual number is 130.
During the period in question, Man City, who have denied all the charges against them, won the Premier League three times.
The Premier League’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules are designed to ensure clubs pretty much spend what they earn. You can get around those potentially by inflating how much you’re earning or hiding how much you are spending. In the PSR (Profitability and Sustainability Rules) and FFP era, artificially increasing your revenue could, in theory, allow a club to spend more on transfers and wages.
According to the Premier League, Man City broke the rules over nine seasons by allegedly failing to provide accurate financial information.
Among the charges against City are that they didn’t fully disclose the financial remunerations that were made to one of their managers over a four-year period. The suggestion is that there was a secret contract so one of the managers was getting paid much more than officially stated.
The Premier League also alleges Man City did not comply with UEFA’s FFP rules over a five-year period.
A Manchester City spokesperson said: “The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality. 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 that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.”
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By Kaveh Solhekol, chief correspondent of Sky Sports
