Manchester City to appeal after guilty verdict on 100-plus financial breaches

Manchester City have signalled an appeal after an independent commission found the club guilty of more than 100 Premier League financial-rule breaches covering nine seasons, setting up a legal fight that could run for years.

Key takeaways

• City have rejected the ruling, calling the findings unsafe and affected by major errors in fact and law.
• No punishment has yet been imposed, but available sanctions range from substantial points deductions to Premier League expulsion.
• Jamie Carragher said repeated appeals risk damaging both City’s standing and the wider competition.
• The case concerns an alleged financial operation worth close to £1 billion between 2009 and 2018.
• Attempts to reach a settlement before the verdict reportedly failed because City would not accept wrongdoing.

City prepare to fight commission verdict

Manchester City’s response has been one of outright resistance. The club believe they hold extensive evidence supporting their position and intend to use the appeals process to overturn the commission’s decision.

Chief executive Ferran Soriano is reported to have told staff that the Premier League’s case amounted to a conspiracy theory. City have maintained that the evidence against them does not stand up and that they will clear the club’s name.

The commission’s findings relate to alleged attempts to bypass financial sustainability requirements. The reported scheme involved sponsorship agreements linked to Abu Dhabi-based companies, with those businesses said to have paid only a limited share of the stated value while Abu Dhabi United Group covered the remainder.

City are also understood to have explored a negotiated resolution before the case reached its verdict. Those discussions broke down when the club declined to acknowledge any breach.

Carragher warns of prolonged damage

Carragher, appearing alongside Micah Richards, Daniel Sturridge and Roy Keane ahead of City’s meeting with Liverpool, questioned whether the club’s owners could accept an adverse legal outcome.

He argued that City’s wealth and influence made it difficult to see them conceding, saying they had rarely faced refusal in their lives. Carragher also stressed that the club existed long before its present ownership and would remain long after it, pointing to its supporters and players across different eras.

Richards challenged the assumption that City’s guilt was settled, asking how the debate would look if the appeal succeeded. Carragher’s view was that City would continue contesting decisions until they secured the result they wanted.

He warned that further challenges could drag English football “through the gutter”, with the dispute threatening to run on for years and harm the reputation of both Manchester City and the Premier League.