Manchester City are facing what could become the biggest scandal in Premier League history. After more than three years of legal proceedings, reports suggest the club has been found guilty of the overwhelming majority of the financial charges brought against them.
Here’s everything you need to know – what happened, why it took so long, what could happen next, and why even a guilty verdict doesn’t mean this is close to over.
What exactly are the charges against Manchester City?
The Premier League charged City in February 2023 with breaking financial rules across a nine-season period, from 2009-10 through 2022-23. The charges span several categories, but the most serious is false accounting: providing inaccurate information about revenue, including sponsorship deals, related-party transactions, and operating costs.
Manchester City could be facing the biggest punishment in English football history. The club have issued a statement after reports emerged that theyve been found guilty on 114 of their 115 charges relating to breaches of financial regulations. @RobHarris looks at the latest pic.twitter.com/XiO82uSTLz
— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 25, 2026 ">
Why is this only coming to light now, so many years later?
The story traces back to 2018, when German magazine Der Spiegel published a series of articles based on internal City emails. Those documents were obtained through "Football Leaks," a website set up by convicted Portuguese hacker Rui Pinto. City never disputed the emails were genuine but declined to comment on what it called material "hacked or stolen." That reporting triggered two separate investigations - one by UEFA, European football's governing body, and one by the Premier League. UEFA moved first, ruling in February 2020 that City had committed "serious breaches" of Financial Fair Play rules and issuing a two-year ban from European competition plus a €30 million fine. Five months later, the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the ban entirely, ruling that some allegations weren't proven and others fell outside UEFA's five-year statute of limitations. City were left with a reduced €10 million fine, this time specifically for failing to cooperate with investigators. The Premier League, crucially, has no such time limit on how far back it can investigate - which is why its case reaches all the way back to 2009.Why has the Premier League's case taken so long?
Even by the standards of complex legal proceedings, this has been an unusually slow process. The investigation was first announced in March 2019, but the Premier League didn't formally charge City until February 2023 - nearly four years later. The hearing itself didn't begin until September 16, 2024, running for 12 weeks before concluding on December 6, 2024. Then came another lengthy wait for a verdict. The delay is generally attributed to a combination of factors: the sheer volume and complexity of the charges, numerous legal challenges City brought along the way over jurisdiction and process, and the difficulty of assembling the three-person independent panel that both City and the Premier League had to agree on.Has a verdict actually been reached?
According to multiple reports - first from The Athletic, followed by the BBC and other outlets - an independent panel has found City guilty of all but one of the charges brought against them. That would mean 114 of the roughly 115 original charges have been upheld. Neither the Premier League nor City has officially confirmed this. The league has said it cannot comment due to the confidential nature of the process. City's own statement, issued the same day the reports broke, stopped short of denying the outcome outright, instead saying the process "remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed."What has Manchester City actually said?
City's official response has been carefully worded rather than a flat denial. Their statement read: "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." Club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak also wrote directly to fans in an open letter, striking a defiant tone without addressing the reported verdict specifically: "The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the Club's innocence is just as strong as when this began... While some people have been quick to reach their own conclusions, and there is so much noise swirling around us, nothing has changed." He pointed to two upcoming fixtures - an away trip to Anfield and a Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad - as moments to "celebrate the strength of the Manchester City family," while acknowledging he couldn't share more due to the legal process's confidentiality.What happens next - is there a punishment already decided?
No. Even with a guilty verdict reportedly reached, the panel still has to hold a separate sanctions hearing to decide on punishment. That process hasn't happened yet, meaning every possible outcome - from a fine to relegation - genuinely remains on the table.What punishments could Manchester City actually face?
The Premier League deliberately chose not to set fixed penalties for financial rule breaches, out of concern that clubs might calculate the cost of breaking rules if they knew the punishment in advance. That means the panel has wide discretion. Possible sanctions include: - A fine- A points deduction (which could apply to a past season or the current one)- Suspension from playing league matches- A recommendation that past matches be replayed- A recommendation that City be expelled from the Premier League- Compensation orders- Cancellation or refusal of player registrations- Conditional punishments- An order to pay legal costs- Essentially any other sanction the panel "thinks fit" For context on how points deductions have worked elsewhere: Everton were docked six points, then two more, during the 2023-24 season for breaching profitability rules, while Nottingham Forest lost four points the same season. Further back in the EFL, Luton Town were docked 30 points in 2008-09, and Derby County lost 21 points in 2021-22 for financial irregularities and administration issues. None of those cases, however, come close to matching the scale or duration of what City are accused of.Could Manchester City lose their Premier League titles?
This is the single biggest question hanging over the case, and right now there's no clear answer. Premier League rules don't explicitly list title-stripping as a punishment, but the panel's power to impose "such other order as it thinks fit" is broad enough that it isn't ruled out either. According to BBC Sport, there's currently little appetite within the Premier League itself, both from the organisation and from other clubs, to see City's past titles actually stripped. A fine, a heavy points deduction, or even expulsion are considered more realistic outcomes than retroactively rewriting the record books. Still, the idea has fueled plenty of debate. If titles were reallocated, the beneficiaries would include Manchester United (2011-12 and 2017-18 Premier League runners-up), Liverpool (2013-14 runners-up), and several domestic cup finalists across the period in question. Former Manchester United player Jose Mourinho once joked, almost two years before any of this reporting, that his side might eventually be handed the 2018 title. The comparison many have drawn is to Juventus, who had their 2005 and 2006 Serie A titles stripped over the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal - the first left vacant, the second reallocated to Inter Milan. There's also a smaller-scale British precedent: Elgin City lost the 1992-93 Highland League title after being found to have fielded ineligible players. But financial rule-breaking is a genuinely different category of offence from match-fixing or ineligible players, and legal experts have noted that punishing current players and fans for historical financial misconduct they had no part in raises its own fairness questions.What has happened when other clubs faced similar scandals?
Outside football, there's a clearer precedent: cyclist Lance Armstrong was stripped of all seven of his Tour de France titles by cycling's governing body in 2012 after being exposed for doping. Athletics has also routinely reallocated medals following delayed doping violations. But as commentators have pointed out, retroactive stripping in an individual sport is far simpler than trying to unwind an entire league table - nobody remembers who finished second to Armstrong, but Premier League title races involve dozens of players, multiple competing clubs, and financial consequences (prize money, sponsorship, European qualification) that ripple outward in ways doping bans don't.What have Manchester City players said about the situation?
Former City midfielder Rodri, responding to the reports, dismissed any suggestion the club's achievements should be diminished: "What we did, they cannot take out of us. It's something that is not paid by money. It's paid with effort, with the damage, with, you know, being shoulder to shoulder every day. I can tell you that everything was deserved, and I'm glad that I could live one of the best eras of English football in here." On the flip side, several players and figures from rival clubs reacted pointedly to the news. Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand - who missed out on the 2011-12 title to City by goal difference - posted: "Another Premier League medal to be added to the cabinet." Former United goalkeeper David de Gea, who finished runner-up to City in both 2012 and 2018, wrote on social media: "So...Let's talk. How many Premier League titles have I won then?"Will Manchester City appeal?
Almost certainly, if the guilty verdict is confirmed. City have a history of aggressively contesting rulings against them - chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak once said he'd rather spend £30 million on top lawyers and sue UEFA for a decade than accept a financial penalty over FFP breaches. Both City and the Premier League have the right to appeal within 14 days of any judgment, with a new three-person commission hearing that appeal. Unlike City's earlier UEFA case, there's no route to the Court of Arbitration for Sport here - Premier League appeals stay entirely within the league's own judicial process. Grounds for appeal are limited to issues like fraud, misconduct, or gross unfairness in how the original panel reached its decision. If the case proceeds to appeal, expect a wait of roughly six to eight months before any final resolution. **Are other clubs planning legal action against Manchester City?** Yes - and this is arguably where the most concrete financial consequences could land. Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham have already served legal notices reserving the right to seek compensation from City, covering lost earnings from missed European qualification, lost league titles, and lost commercial revenue during the period in question. One lawyer described the scale of potential claims as almost impossible to contain: "The question isn't whether the clubs can take legal action... it's where does the line of people who have a case actually end? The clubs who didn't win/qualify/stay up; the players who didn't get bonuses, contract extensions; the staff who missed out on bonuses; the agents who didn't get their uplift on their player deals... It's endless and potentially so destructive to the whole ecosystem."Could this affect Manchester City's current squad - including Erling Haaland?
This is a real concern being discussed, though it remains speculative. With City's ultimate punishment still unknown - everything from a fine to potential relegation is technically on the table - some reporting suggests unease among the club's biggest stars about what comes next. Haaland in particular has been floated as a potential departure risk if serious sanctions land, given his level of profile and market value; reports peg his total financial package at over €50 million a year in salary and bonuses combined. Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, and FC Barcelona have all been mentioned as clubs capable of absorbing that kind of financial commitment, with Haaland previously linked to a preference for Spanish football. Other high-profile squad members - including Enzo Fernández, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Rúben Dias, Rayan Cherki, and Josko Gvardiol - have also been mentioned as players who could look to leave if drastic sanctions materialize. It's worth stressing this remains speculation rather than anything confirmed by players or their camps.How did City's rivals fare during the period under investigation?
Beyond the direct title race, City's spending during this period reshaped the wider competitive landscape. Arsenal, in particular, lost a string of key players to City in the years following the 2008 Abu Dhabi takeover - Kolo Touré, Emmanuel Adebayor, Bacary Sagna, Gaël Clichy, and Samir Nasri all moved from Arsenal to City during the investigated period, as City transformed almost overnight from a club that hadn't won a major trophy since 1976 into a genuine superpower. Manchester United's own trajectory shifted too, with Carlos Tévez's 2009 move across Manchester frequently cited as the moment City's rise properly began.Is Manchester City the only club to have faced scrutiny like this?
No - though the scale here is considerably larger. Chelsea have separately faced scepticism over a string of undisclosed payments to agents between 2011 and 2018, uncovered during their own ownership change. Some observers have already asked why City's case, if it results in serious sanctions, wouldn't invite the same scrutiny applied retroactively to Chelsea's trophy-laden era under previous ownership.Full Timeline: Manchester City vs. the Premier League
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| November 2018 | Der Spiegel publishes internal City emails alleging schemes to disguise revenue sources, sourced via the Football Leaks website. |
| March 2019 | UEFA formally opens its investigation. |
| May 2019 | City say they have provided "comprehensive proof" that the allegations are false. |
| February 2020 | UEFA bans City from the Champions League for two seasons and fines the club €30 million. |
| July 2020 | The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturns the ban, citing unproven and time-barred allegations, but upholds a reduced €10 million fine for non-cooperation. |
| February 2023 | The Premier League formally charges City with more than 100 alleged breaches spanning 2009-18, plus failure to cooperate. |
| May 2023 | City win their fifth Premier League title in six seasons; Pep Guardiola says he wants the charges resolved "as soon as possible." |
| September 2023 | Rui Pinto is given a four-year suspended prison sentence in Portugal over the original hacking. |
| September 16, 2024 | The independent hearing begins. |
| December 6, 2024 | The hearing concludes after 12 weeks, with no verdict announced. |
| September 25-26, 2026 | Multiple outlets report that City have been found guilty of 114 of roughly 115 charges; City neither confirm nor deny the reports. |
What's the simplest way to sum up where things stand right now?
A guilty verdict has reportedly been reached - but not officially confirmed by either party - on the overwhelming majority of the charges against Manchester City. No punishment has been decided yet; that requires a separate sanctions hearing that hasn't taken place. Whatever sanction is eventually handed down will almost certainly be appealed by City, adding several more months to a case that's already run for over three years since formal charges were filed, and over seven years since the original allegations first surfaced. Even once the football side of this is resolved, a wave of compensation claims from rival clubs is expected to keep the legal fallout running for a long time after.About the Author
