Details of British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s Meetings With Man City

· GiveMeSport

Details of British PM Andy Burnham’s meetings with Man City are revealed amid his 'bizarre' defence of owners.

The footballing world awaits in eager anticipation to find out just what will happen to Manchester City . An independent commission has found the club guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules , and big sanctions are expected.

There has been talk that the Abu Dhabi owners should be forced to sell the club, with Gary Neville among the biggest names to back the notion . However, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently claimed he would be 'really concerned' to see that happen . The former mayor of Greater Manchester said:

> "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."

There are those, however, who have been strongly critical of his comments. Many feel there is a conflict of interest when club owner Sheikh Mansour is known to have put significant financial investment into Manchester while Burnham was mayor between 2017 and the summer of 2026.

As per the Guardian, one Burnham ally said it was 'absolutely mad' for the prime minister to comment and risk being seen to be influencing a disciplinary process, describing it as his [biggest mistake so far.'

Following this, details have now emerged of Burnham’s meetings with the Man City owners in recent times. As quoted by Manchester World, a Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) spokesman said:

> "In October 2021 Andy Burnham, in his role as mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade. > > "In his capacity as mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way. > > "Also during his time as mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of mayoral international visits. > > "This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan."

City have been given a 10% chance of getting away with just a fine and a small points deduction.

Despite these details emerging, shadow sports minister Louie French has called for more specifics to be revealed. He claimed that this was “far from the full transparency that football fans deserve," adding:

> "Burnham cannot hide behind the GMCA – he must take responsibility for this himself. We have been given precious little information about these meetings, what was discussed and what may have been agreed. If Burnham has nothing to hide, why is he being so tight-lipped? > > "His bizarre intervention in defence of Man City’s owners has raised serious concerns among fans. It’s time for the Prime Minister to come clean about his relationship with City Football Group so the public can make their own conclusions."

Man City have appealed the guilty verdict, and it will take up to 12 weeks before the process is concluded . It's unclear how long it will be before the sanctions, if any, are revealed by the independent commission and put into action.

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