Manchester City have been charged with a breach of Financial Fair Play regulations by the Premier League for the last decade. Between 2009 and 2018, the club has been charged with 98 instances of breaking the financial regulations.
In 2018, German publication Der Spiegel released financial documents that laid bare their FFP infringements. They later revealed that the president of the club, Sheikh Mansour, had been negotiating inflated deals with Emirati sponsors to increase the revenue of the club on the books.
How Manchester City breached FFP rules over the last decade
All of the sponsors that the club had agreed deals with, were close to the UAE government. Moreover, last April, Der Spiegel revealed that the club had signed an underage player by paying millions to the agent in a triangular deal.
The intention behind these deals was for City to comply with UEFA’s limits for losses between 2012 and 2016. At the time, they denied any wrongdoing, and went on to state that the documents were obtained in a criminal manner. They also stated that it was a deliberate attempt to tarnish the reputation of the club.
Former Manchester City head coach Roberto Mancini was also involved in the Football Leaks investigation. Der Spiegel revealed that he received payments as a fictitious consultant to Al Jazira. This led to him receiving €1.9 million in addition to the €1.6 million he was earning at the time.
City already faced action in 2020, and were banned from UEFA competitions. But their appeal was successful to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the ban was overturned with the fine being reduced from €30 million to €10 million.
And it now remains to be seen how the investigation and proceedings will be carried for the allegations made by the Premier League.
