Manchester City will argue in their appeal against a Premier League ruling that additional funding linked to sponsorship agreements between 2009 and 2018 came from the Abu Dhabi government, rather than from the club’s owners.
An independent commission found that City breached Premier League financial regulations by presenting £830.69m of owner funding as sponsorship income.
The club’s lawyers put forward the same argument during a hearing in 2024, saying the money had been provided by the Abu Dhabi government. The commission rejected that explanation in its judgment.
It said it had “concluded that it was an explanation that the club had concocted well after the event in an attempt to conceal the realities of the Disguised Funding Scheme”.
Manchester City, who remain majority owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Newton Investment and Development LLC, continue to deny any wrongdoing. Sheikh Mansour is a member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family and serves as the vice-president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.
The club must submit its appeal by Friday.
Appeal could extend into 2027
Manchester City’s legal challenge could continue into next year, and potentially into 2027, if the club disputes the rules that should govern the appeal process.
Under Premier League regulations introduced for the current season, appeals in disciplinary cases must, where possible, be completed within 12 weeks. An appeal hearing is also limited to a maximum of five days.
However, City’s lawyers could argue that those provisions should not apply because the club was charged in 2023 and its hearing took place in 2024, before the accelerated appeal procedure appeared in the Premier League Handbook.
A legal expert told Sky Sports News that Manchester City would have a strong argument in claiming the newer rules should not be used in this case.
The revised regulations were brought in so that, where possible, clubs would face punishment during the same season in which the relevant breaches occurred.
If City succeed in challenging the applicability of the new timetable, the appeal could take considerably longer than the 12-week period now set out in the Premier League rules.