HOW THE PREMIER LEAGUE CAUGHT MAN CITY - THE FULL STORY FROM 2008 TO TODAY

This is the biggest financial scandal in Premier League history. And last week, it finally reached a verdict.

1. WHERE IT ALL STARTED

When Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) bought Man City in 2008, the spending was insane. £650m+ injected in the first two years alone to buy Yaya Toure, David Silva, Aguero and others. Football called it "financial doping."

UEFA responded by creating Financial Fair Play (FFP) in 2009, and Premier League created Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) in 2013 — both with one rule: you can't spend more than you earn.

2. HOW THEY WERE CAUGHT - FOOTBALL LEAKS

November 2018, German magazine Der Spiegel published a 4-part series based on leaked internal City emails, obtained via the Football Leaks site run by hacker Rui Pinto.

The emails showed what the Premier League later called a "disguised funding scheme" and "sham contracts".

How it worked according to the Premier League:

Sponsors linked to Abu Dhabi would sign huge deals on paper, but only pay a small part. The rest was secretly paid by ADUG itself, who owned the club. That made it look like City earned £900 MILLION more than they actually did over 9 years.

City's response at the time: "We will not comment on out-of-context materials purportedly hacked or stolen."

3. UEFA TRIED FIRST

March 2019 - UEFA opens formal investigation.

Feb 2020 - UEFA finds City guilty of "serious breaches" for overstating sponsorship revenue between 2012-2016 and bans them from Champions League for 2 years + €30m fine.

July 2020 - City appeals to CAS. CAS overturns the ban, saying most breaches were "not established or time-barred" — UEFA has a 5-year limit. City only pays €10m for failing to cooperate.

Premier League has NO time limit. So their investigation went all the way back to 2009.

4. THE PREMIER LEAGUE'S 115 (NOW 130) CHARGES

After a 4-year investigation, on 6th February 2023, Premier League charged City and referred them to an Independent Commission.

Breakdown:

• 54 counts: Failure to provide accurate financial info (sponsorship revenue, related parties, operating costs) 2009/10 to 2017/18 • 14 counts: Failure to provide accurate details for player and manager payments • 7 counts: Breaching PSR • 5 counts: Breaching UEFA FFP • 35 counts: Failure to cooperate with investigation from 2018-2023

5. THE SECRET HEARING

The hearing started 16 September 2024 and ran for 12 weeks until 6 December 2024. It was completely private and confidential. City hired top barrister Lord David Pannick to lead defence.

Then silence for 9 months.

6. THE VERDICT - SEPTEMBER 2026

25 September 2026: The Athletic's David Ornstein breaks it — City found guilty on 114 of 115 charges.

29 September 2026: Premier League confirms it officially. The statement says City used "sham contracts" where sponsors paid less than the contracts stated, with the difference paid by ADUG, resulting in inflated revenue and reduced costs of £900m total.

Reports now say total charges grew to 130 as new breaches were added during the process.

What does it mean? The commission said City artificially inflated revenue by more than $1 BILLION over a decade to circumvent fair-play rules and pad the squad with stars.

7. WHAT HAPPENS NOW? - THIS IS NOT OVER

This was ONLY the verdict on guilt. Punishment will be decided in a SEPARATE sanctions hearing. No punishment has been decided yet.

Possible punishments under Premier League rules:

• Massive fine • Points deduction (could be applied to current or past seasons) • Suspension • Expulsion from the Premier League • Title stripping (the "any other order as it thinks fit" clause) • Compensation orders to other clubs

City's response: Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak wrote to fans: "Nothing has changed... our confidence and intent in proving the Club's innocence is just as strong." Club says they will appeal. They have 14 days to appeal to a new independent panel. No route to CAS this time — it stays inside Premier League.

If they lose appeal, Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd and Tottenham have already filed legal notices to sue for compensation for lost titles, European places and commercial revenue.

City remain defiant. As Rodri said after the verdict: "What we did, they cannot take out of us."

The era of financial fair play just entered its biggest test.