Why Man City are facing 115 charges and what it means for their transfer spending, trophies and future

09/16/2024 08:47 AM

The Premier League’s long-awaited hearing into Manchester City’s alleged 115 breaches of Financial Fair Play is finally underway.

Proceedings looking into the English club’s financial dealings from 2009-2018 have been mooted for some time, but the process has now started, meaning we are in the end game regarding this situation.

Pep Guardiola‘s side, who deny every count against them, wrapped up a record fourth consecutive top-flight title in May and are looking for a fifth, but a cloud hangs over their continued success.

City – whose latest title was their sixth in seven years – were charged by the Premier League over a year-and-a-half ago in February 2023.

Since then, the investigation hasn’t concluded but Everton and Nottingham Forest have been punished for lesser offences.

The Premier League have argued that City’s case is different because of the depth, scale and complexity of the charges, and the hearing is expected to take ten weeks.

Why Man City are facing over 100 charges?

The Etihad outfit have been charged with breaking FFP rules around 100 times over nine years, from 2009 until 2018.

Their alleged offences have coincided with the club blossoming into the dominant force of English football.

City won the Premier League three times during that period in question – in 2012, 2014 and 2018.

Their charges vary from failing to provide accurate financial information, not complying with UEFA‘s FFP rules, and not disclosing manager compensation.

However, not all relate to financial issues – 35 relate to allegedly failing to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation.

Why Man City are actually facing 130 charges

It’s been reported extensively that City face 115 charges, but the actual number is 130 because the Premier League made an initial error when publishing their findings.

So, these extra charges aren’t new and are additions to the ones we all know about.

The confusion comes from some of the alleged rule breaches not being associated with particular seasons.

Therefore, some of the existing charges have been divided up into new ones, but we don’t know what categories they fit into, with that information not public knowledge.

Charges explained

While failure to comply offences are self explanatory, the first alleged breach is the breach which City face the most charges from.

Every Premier League club signs up to a code of compliance, which involves providing the league with accurate and up-to-date accounts.

City, however, have been accused of inflating the value of their sponsorship which allowed owner Sheikh Mansour to pump more money into the club.

Other charges include a failure to provide accurate financial reports for player and manager compensation.

The latter concerns former Man City manager Roberto Mancini, who was alleged to have been paid over £1million annually as a consultancy fee for Al Jazira in Abu Dhabi on top of his reported salary.

These alleged hidden payments were also said to have been given to players signed during that period, which in theory, allowed City to build the foundations of success from which Guardiola took over in 2016.

The Citizens were fined around £27m for alleged FFP breaches by UEFA and handed a two-year ban in 2020, which was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the money was reduced to £10m.

The panel found some breaches alleged were time-barred – crucially, the Premier League’s investigation does NOT include a time bar.

Trial process

Proceedings involving the Premier League and Man City got underway on Monday, September 16.

The formal hearing with the independent commission can go on for up to ten weeks due to the complexity of the case and the depths of legal arguments from both sides.

But even once the the hearing ends, the three-person panel overseeing the process must deliver their verdict, which is likely to be a document 100s of pages long.

This is not expected until around March next year.

No matter what happens, the decision can’t be taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS].

However, an appeal could be lodged by either the club or the league, meaning there would be a new hearing.

So, despite the fact the case is starting, we could still have a long time until there is a clear verdict because of the appeals process.

What it means for their future?

A range of penalties could be levied at the reigning champions should they be found guilty of any or indeed, all of the charges.

A hefty fine or a points deduction would seem most likely, but City could also be expelled from the Premier League.

Other possible punishments from the Premier League include a transfer ban, which Chelsea experienced in 2019.

In similar fashion, spending limits could be slapped on City, who have spent £1.53 billion on players over the last ten years.

The Manchester club could even face relegation, although former City financial adviser Stefan Borson explained how that’s unlikely.

He told talkSPORT: “There can be no question that, if these charges are proven, this will end in at least relegation. There is the suggestion of conspiracy over, effectively, a ten-year period.

“If proven, this is super serious. Nobody would argue with that. City will say, I promise you, that this is an allegation of the most serious nature.

“It seems to me to be highly unlikely that the conduct is alleged has taken place over a ten-year period with the sorts of individuals that are involved in the club and in the companies that are involved.

“It will be a very big call for any court or tribunal to suggest that this number of people have been dishonest, and perjured themselves.

“That would be a massive call for, effectively, some KCs and maybe a former finance director of a football club, to make against not just Manchester City, but against numerous executives, against third party individuals, and against, of course, potentially senior members of foreign states.”

In response to this threat, City have launched their own legal challenge against the Premier League – claiming they are the victim of ‘discrimination’ from rival clubs.

The Citizens are pushing for the removal of Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules, which they claim are 'unlawful'.

These rules were brought into action after Newcastle’s majority takeover by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund in 2021.

The point is to maintain competitiveness in the league by stopping clubs inflating their wealth through sponsorship deals linked to club owners.

But City, who have dominated English football over the past decade, believe these laws to be unfair.

Should City's claim be successful then it is likely to have ramifications for their alleged 130 charges with companies based in Abu Dhabi linked to deals with the club.

The club’s sponsors currently include Etihad Airways, Etisalat and Experience Abu Dhabi.