Andy Burnham Breaks Silence on Man City Owners After Guilty Verdict

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Andy Burnham’s Comments About Man City’s Owners After Guilty Verdict Have Caused a Huge Stir

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has caused a huge stir with his comments about Manchester City's owners. The 10 Downing Street resident has now broken his silence for the first time since the Premier League found the Cityzens guilty of all 115 charges last week.

Among the independent panel's findings were that City arranged "sham contracts" with a number of commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise more than £830m in secret funding. The Premier League said City "systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade".

Much of the fallout has centred around revisionism over a period that saw City hold dominion over English football. It now means that many people cannot look at their achievements in the same way, while attention turns towards what the impending punishment might be.

Some of the potential implications include a huge fine, a points deduction or even expulsion from the Premier League, as well as potentially being stripped of the eight trophies they won during the affected period . But Burnham has taken a completely different approach to the situation amid the latest suggestions that the UAE businessmen could look to sell City.

Burnham has said he would be "really concerned" if Man City's owners decide to sell up after the club was found guilty of financial rule breaches. Asked by the BBC if he was concerned that Manchester City's owners would now sell the club, Burham said on Wednesday:

> "I would be really concerned to lose them. They've been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester and obviously the building of Manchester City into the global force that it is."

Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester until June, added: "I do actually thank the City Football Group and the wider ownership for the money that they didn't just put into the Etihad [Stadium] and the campus around it but also into the city". He said he was "of course" confident that his own interactions with City's owners when he was mayor would stand up to scrutiny.

And, of course, his comments have been instantly criticised. "This sounds dodgy from Burnham, has he been corrupted already?" one X user asked. "This is nothing to do with politics. This is football. Keep them separate." Meanwhile, a second added: "Here comes the political interference..." as a third remarked:

> "This is the literal reason why sportswashing works. This is exactly the aim."

Meanwhile, a fifth wrote: "Why would he be concerned by this? They've just overseen the biggest cheating scandal in English football history? What an absolutely absurd thing for a prime minister to say."

A sixth concluded: "Corruption of the highest order in front of our eyes. Clear cheating fraud for a decade, our PM should be calling for criminal charges, but he’s advocating for sports-washing."

The UK had previously been warned about the consequences it could face if City were found guilty of the 115 Premier League charges they have now been found guilty of, just a month before the verdict became public knowledge.

According to a report from Bloomberg, citing two people close to the matter in August, "United Arab Emirates officials caution that a negative outcome could damage improved relations with the UK".

City are owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who purchased the club on transfer deadline day in August 2008 and invested a huge wealth into the club.

A guilty verdict on the Cityzens' 115 charges case has put the UK in a tricky diplomatic situation.

The 55-year-old is the vice president of the UAE, with his brother Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan serving as president. He recently shared a phone call with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who served as mayor of Manchester for nine years.

A guilty verdict, according to the report, threatens to derail Burnham's government's hopes to broaden the UK's investment appeal to wealthy allies like the UAE, and so his stance on things appear to be swayed by just that.

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