The story of Manchester City and the 115 charges

· BBC-PL

It is the biggest disciplinary case in Premier League history. Here we piece together Man City's on-field endeavours with their alleged wrongdoings.

It is the biggest disciplinary case in Premier League history.

The outcome will define top-flight football in the 2010s - as well as this decade.

It is a battle between Manchester City and the Premier League - but who will prevail?

Last week, round one went to the Premier League as an independent panel found City guilty of the majority of the 115 charges they faced.

But we still don’t know what the punishment might be, and City will appeal.

The chaos is set to continue.

It’s a complex picture, and details of the case stretch back 17 years.

Here, we piece together City’s on-field endeavours with the alleged wrongdoing to lay out the timeline.

The key players

Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim

Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim was the public face of the Abu Dhabi United Group’s deal to buy Manchester City in 2008, fronting negotiations with the club’s previous owners.

He was later sentenced to five years in jail for stealing £5m from his wife to buy Portsmouth - a club he owned for six weeks in 2009.

Khaldoon al-Mubarak (chairman)

An Emirati official, who holds several senior positions within the government of Abu Dhabi, Khaldoon al-Mubarak has been Manchester City’s chairman since the takeover in 2008.

The 51-year-old is also the chairman of City Football Group (CFG) - the parent company of the Premier League club.

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (owner)

The vice-president and deputy prime minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan is also a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi. He has been the owner of Manchester City since a £200m takeover in 2008.

Der Spiegel alleged in 2018 that Sheikh Mansour provided monetary supplements to existing deals with sponsors in Abu Dhabi to invest more money into the club.

Garry Cook (chief executive)

Garry Cook was appointed chief executive of Manchester City in May 2008, under the club's previous owners. He resigned in 2012 over claims he emailed the mother of defender Nedum Onuoha, mocking her for saying she was ravaged with cancer.

Simon Pearce (director)

Simon Pearce, who has been a member of Manchester City’s board of directors since 2008, is a senior adviser to the Executive Affairs Authority - the Abu Dhabi government agency that advises UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He is also the vice-chairman of Melbourne City FC - another club owned by CFG.

Jorge Chumillas (chief financial officer)

Der Spiegel claimed it had seen an email written by City's then chief financial officer, Jorge Chumillas, that showed club officials discussed how to wipe out a £9.9m shortfall in 2013 and circumvent FFP regulations.

Composite design, collaging celebratory images of Carlos Tevez and Vincent Company. Close up of Roberto Mancini, image

A blue moon rising

The joke was that Robinho didn’t know which Manchester club he was signing for, while others suggested he’d been lured by the cash on offer in the blue half of the city. “He's a great kid, but badly advised,” scoffed Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon of the 24-year-old.

Regardless, the Brazilian’s arrival at Manchester City for a British record transfer fee on 1 September 2008 was a statement of intent from Abu Dhabi United Group on the day it agreed to take the club off Thaksin Shinawatra’s hands, and in doing so changed the face of English football forever.

The new owners “bulldozed through the Premier League’s established order with a display of financial firepower that stunned Manchester United and left Chelsea bruised and humiliated”, wrote BBC Sport’s chief football writer Phil McNulty of the Robinho coup. And there would be more to come.

“We really have deep pockets,” said Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, fronting the takeover. “Our goal is to make this football club one of the best not just in England but also in the world. To reach that goal there is no limit.”

But as City committed to their spending spree to the tune of more than £100m in summer 2009, snaring Carlos Tevez from neighbours Manchester United and Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal, European football’s governing body, Uefa, was becoming increasingly concerned by the finances of its clubs.

Of almost 650 top-flight clubs across 53 member nations, a Uefa report found more than half were operating at a loss. Financial fair play (FFP) was about to enter the football lexicon, as Uefa's general secretary at the time Gianni Infantino insisted: “The rules basically say, 'You cannot spend more than you generate'. They will reward those who play within the rules and have a sound and sustainable business model.”

Then president Michael Platini said the new laws, to be applied from 2011, would stamp out “financial doping” within football.

Mark Hughes’ appointment as City boss predated the new owners by three months, but come December 2009, for Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the City board, it was time to pull the plug. They had backed the Welshman with £200m worth of talent in 18 months, despite failed bids for John Terry, Samuel Eto’o and Kaka.

Roberto Mancini, who watched Hughes’ last hurrah as City boss from the stands, immediately replaced him, kicking off his tenure with a Boxing Day win over Stoke City. The move had the desired impact on City’s form but they were pipped to Champions League qualification by Tottenham Hotspur.

Amid rumours City could dispense with Mancini, chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak insisted his job was safe. The Italian, meanwhile, said: “I am not a magician and I don't have a magic wand.”

Mancini may not have had a magic wand, but according to German magazine Der Spiegel’s report from the Football Leaks website, which was run by Portuguese whistleblower Rui Pinto and released a cache of confidential documents to the media, he did have a second income. In an alleged attempt to circumvent Uefa’s impending FFP rules, it is claimed Mancini was handed a lucrative deal as a consultant for Al Jazira Sports and Cultural Club in the Arabian Gulf League, owned by Sheikh Mansour, worth £1.75m for a minimum of four days’ work per year, and more than his annual basic contract at City. Mancini, like Manchester City, has always denied any wrongdoing.

Over at Old Trafford, meanwhile, a banner reading “35 years” could be seen mocking City, ticking over every season since United’s rivals had last won something. Mancini vowed to take it down after his arrival in east Manchester, and finally banish Sir Alex Ferguson’s claims City were “all talk”.

After another £100m+ summer injection of talent, adding Edin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli, Yaya Toure, David Silva and James Milner to the squad, along with defenders Jerome Boateng and Aleksandar Kolarov, Mancini did just that.

The Italian set about proving the City hierarchy were right to stick with him by beating United in the FA Cup semi-final en route to ending the Citizens’ trophy drought in May 2011. Hours after United swept to a 19th league title, and with City assured of Champions League football for the first time, Mancini’s side beat Stoke at Wembley to win their first major prize since the 1976 League Cup. “This could be a turning point for us,” claimed the boss, as City players revealed their own “00 years” banner.

“There is a blue moon rising,” added another banner shown by the expectant fans.

Major trophies since takeover:

- 1 x FA Cup (2010)

AGUEROOOOO

After a summer celebrating their first trophy in 35 years, City began preparing for life in the Champions League as Uefa’s FFP regulations took hold. This meant clubs were required to balance their books over three-year cycles, starting from 2011-12, with the first deadline in 2013.

With losses of £123.3m the previous season, City would have fallen foul of the new guidelines. And what would the punishment be for non-compliance? “The atomic bomb is a ban from European competition,” threatened Uefa’s Jean-Luc Dehaene.

That same summer, City’s Eastlands home got a new name. Etihad Stadium was born as the club signed a 10-year deal with the Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways airline, which was already their shirt sponsor, worth up to £400m.

That deal came under scrutiny, including from Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and Ian Ayre at Liverpool. “Are Etihad, City and Sheikh Mansour related parties? If they are, it’s up to Uefa to rule on them,” Liverpool managing director Ayre told the Independent.

City categorically denied the fee they negotiated with Etihad was artificially inflated, saying “figures being speculated about are not accurate”. “Manchester City is a proactive member of the European Clubs' Association and is working actively and with transparency with regard to financial fair play,” they added. “In light of these facts, recent comments about the partnership by some observers are unfounded and regrettable.”

In the end, their first Premier League triumph could not have been more dramatic. Needing a win over relegation-threatened QPR at the Etihad on the final day of the 2011-12 season to claim a first title since 1968, City found themselves 2-1 down in added time, having seemingly handed another championship to rivals United.

Dzeko nodded the hosts level before another substitute, Balotelli, falling and stretching, poked the ball into Sergio Aguero’s path for a 94th-minute winner. “I swear you’ll never see anything like this ever again!” exclaimed commentator Martin Tyler. Aguero, signed the previous summer for a club record fee, whipped his jersey off as pandemonium ensued, the normally suave Mancini scampering frantically to embrace his coaching staff. Manchester was blue.

Four years after taking over the club, and having spent almost half a billion pounds on transfers at a net loss of £345.9m, City’s owners had their first Premier League crown.

But, as was alleged in Der Spiegel's reports seven years later, this was when the club were about to bend Uefa’s financial rules, by allegedly inflating sponsorship deals with Etihad, Aabar and the Abu Dhabi tourism authority. These deals, it said, were supplemented by City owner Sheikh Mansour. Der Spiegel quoted an internal email, sent by club executive Simon Pearce in April 2010, regarding an annual £15m deal with investment company Aabar. It read: “As we discussed, the annual direct obligation for Aabar is £3m. The remaining £12m will come from alternative sources provided by His Highness.” City said the Abu Dhabi-based companies were independent sponsors.

City’s summer recruitment was modest compared to previous years, with Englishmen Jack Rodwell and Scott Sinclair among the arrivals, and the following February Premier League clubs agreed to new spending controls. They stated clubs would not be allowed to make a total loss of more than £105m over the next three seasons, although investment in areas such as stadiums and academies would be exempt. “If people break the £105m we will look for the top-end ultimate sanction range - a points deduction,” insisted Premier League boss Richard Scudamore.

After Mancini’s outfit finished bottom of their Champions League group, they were also unable to follow up on their Premier League title, ending the season 11 points behind rivals United, who were inspired by the signing of Robin van Persie.

City did, however, reach the 2013 FA Cup final. There, they would face Wigan Athletic. In one of Wembley’s biggest shocks, Wigan, who would be relegated to the Championship a few days later, clinched a stunning 1-0 win thanks to Ben Watson’s 91st-minute header. Mancini, who was becoming increasingly outspoken, paid with his job.

According to Der Spiegel, though, Mancini’s sacking and subsequent pay-off left a £9.9m shortfall. Der Spiegel claim to have seen internal documents that show City officials discussed how to wipe that out. The German magazine reported that, in an internal email, City's chief financial officer Jorge Chumillas wrote: “We will have a shortfall of £9.9m in order to comply with Uefa FFP this season. The deficit is due to RM termination. I think that the only solution left would be an additional amount of AD sponsorship revenues that covers this gap.”

City responded by saying: “The attempt to damage the club's reputation is organised and clear.” They have maintained allegations are “entirely false” and came from “illegal hacking and out-of-context publication of City emails”.

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