EXPLAINED: Manchester City And The 115 Charges Timeline
In September 2026, Manchester City were found guilty of breaking the majority of the 115 financial rules they were accused of breaching. This is how it came to pass following the takeover by Sheikh Mansour & his Abu Dhabi United Group in 2009. 00:00 The Story Of Manchester City's 115 Charges 00:55 Sheikh Mansour's Takeover 02:18 Financial Fair Play Changes Football 03:11 Manchester City's First Success 04:28 Aguero's 93:20 And City's First Title 05:34 Sponsorship Allegations Emerge 07:39 Pep Guardiola's Revolution 08:09 Football Leaks And Der Spiegel 08:55 UEFA Ban And CAS Appeal 10:14 The Premier League's 115 Charges 11:12 Treble Glory Amid Investigation 12:08 The Disciplinary Hearing Begins 13:15 City Found Guilty 14:43 Possible Punishments Explained 15:25 What Happens To City's Legacy? Follow more on the BBC Sport app, iPlayer and Sounds. ============= Find us here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BBCMOTD X: https://x.com/BBCMOTD Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bbcfootball/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bbcsport bbcfootball
Transcript
This is the story of Manchester City and the 115 charges. It is the biggest disciplinary case in Premier League history and a story that could well change how we view almost a decade of the sport in this country. Three years after being charged, City have been found guilty by an independent commission of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 season. A damning 40-page legal document said the club artificially inflated revenue by more than 900 million pounds through sham sponsorship deals and a so-called disguised funding scheme. It all stems from documents given to German magazine Der Spiegel by the Football League's website. City have repeatedly denied guilt and signaled that they will appeal. That means that this already long-running saga is set to continue and one that started 17 years ago and has always been complex. And so, over the next few minutes, Ben Croucher and I will piece together how we have got here. >> The 1st of September 2008 is a date celebrated by Manchester City fans. It's the day the Abu Dhabi United Group, led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, bought a club that had finished ninth in the Premier League the season before and hadn't won a trophy for 32 seasons. It came almost out of the blue and appeared to be a surprise even to the statement signing they made in the first hours owning the club. Robinho joined on transfer deadline day from Real Madrid for a club record 32.5 million pounds. The joke at the time being was the Brazilian didn't know which Manchester club he was signing for, but the intent was clear. The club's new owner said, "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." >> Well, City's next big signing was Carlos Tevez, the club reveling in the fact that he joined from neighbors United. But he was part of more than 100 million pounds worth of new talent that arrived in the summer of 2009. And European football's governing body, UEFA, was starting to notice and become increasingly concerned by the finances of some of its clubs, with reports saying more than half were operating at a loss. As financial fair play, or FFP, started to enter the football language, City carried on spending. But come December of that year, the first big change under their new owners. >> Mark Hughes had been the manager since before the takeover, but City wanted a new man in charge. Roberto Mancini was brought in to try and achieve the next step towards success, Champions League football. They missed out right at the end of the season when the Italian insisted, "I am not a magician and I don't have a magic wand." But claims made by Der Spiegel suggested, in an attempt to circumvent those UEFA FFP rules, Mancini did have something else, a second income. >> So, alongside his wage at City, it's alleged that Mancini was also given a lucrative deal as a consultant for Al Jazeera Sports and Cultural Club in the Arabian Gulf League, owned by Sheikh Mansour, worth 1.75 million for a minimum of 4 days work a year. And that is more than his annual basic contract at City. Mancini has always denied any wrongdoing, including again after the guilty verdicts came to light. In 2010, more money was spent to achieve >> [music] >> two things, Champions League football and a trophy. The next season, they got both. >> The FA Cup in 2011 provided Manchester City's first silverware since 1976 League Cup, a famous banner at Manchester United's Old Trafford. Counting up the years since City's last trophy would have to be taken down to the delight of supporters who could also start planning for a first season in the Champions League, but that also meant UEFA's FFP regulations would take hold. But then UEFA president Michel Platini said the rules would stamp out financial doping with clubs required to balance their books over 3-year cycles starting from 2011-12. >> And given that City had losses of 123 million the previous season, then they needed income to meet those new guidelines. That summer, Etihad signed a 10-year deal to name City's Eastlands Stadium with the Abu Dhabi-based airline already the club's shirt sponsor paying up to 400 million pounds, a figure met at the time with some criticism from outside parties claiming the value of the deal had been inflated. It was in that stadium the following May that Manchester City provided what has until now been considered the defining moment in Premier League history. Needing a win over relegation-threatened QPR to claim a first league title since 1968, City was surprisingly 2-1 down in added time with Manchester United about to be the beneficiaries of a dramatic final day collapse. But, then came an equalizer, and then in the 94th minute Sergio Agüero, another record City signing a year before, scored an unforgettable winner. 4 years after taking over the club and having spent almost a half billion pounds on transfers, City's owners had their first Premier League crown. >> And as the fans celebrated, it's alleged by Der Spiegel the club were about to bend UEFA's financial rules by inflating sponsorship deals with Etihad, Aabar, and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority. Der Spiegel quoted an internal email sent by the club executive Simon Pearce in April 2010 regarding an annual 15 million pound deal with Aabar, an Abu Dhabi investment company. It read, "As we discussed, the annual direct obligation for Aabar is 3 million pounds. The remaining 12 million will come from alternative sources provided by His Highness." Referencing Sheikh Mansour, City said the Abu Dhabi-based companies were independent sponsors. >> But a more pressing shortfall would come a year later after City lost the FA Cup final to Wigan in one of the competition's biggest shocks. Roberto Mancini was subsequently sacked. And according to Der Spiegel, his payoff left a near 10 million pound shortfall. The magazine claims to have seen internal documents that show City officials discussing how to wipe that out. City maintained the allegations were entirely false and came from illegal hacking and out of context publication of City emails. Nevertheless, Mancini was replaced by Manuel Pellegrini with an immediate return coming in the shape of a League Cup and a second Premier League title. But again, matters off the pitch soon reared their head. >> Days after lifting up the Premier League trophy, City were hit with a first round of UEFA FFP punishments for posting combined losses of almost 149 million pounds for the previous two seasons. The club were fined 49 million pounds, much of it suspended, and their Champions League squad was capped at 21 players. They were told they could not spend more than 49 million on transfers plus any fees received, and their wage bill must not rise. City responded by saying the club believes it's complied with the FFP regulations on this and all other matters, and they continued to expand on and off the pitch with a new 200 million pound state-of-the-art training complex and a women's team claiming the League Cup in their first season in the WSL. City Football Group, having created New York City FC a year earlier, added Melbourne City and a stake in Yokohama F. Marinos to its portfolio. >> Manuel Pellegrini couldn't repeat his first season heroics, and 2014-15 ended trophyless. Pellegrini did keep his job, but by now it was an open secret that Pep Guardiola was being courted by the club. In February 2016, City confirmed a deal for Guardiola with Pellegrini departing after another League Cup and a run to the Champions League semi-finals. Guardiola's arrival heralded a revolution in the way that football is played in England. [music] And while silverware was beyond them in his first season, the League Cup became Guardiola's first trophy in England in the following campaign. City also wrapped up the Premier League by mid-April 2018, going on to smash a host of records to finish the season on 100 points. >> Then came the allegations. At the end of the year, Der Spiegel had published their articles based on documents shown to them by the Football League's whistleblower Rui Pinto, saying City had misled UEFA by not revealing their directed money to the club from Abu Dhabi owner Sheikh Mansour via sponsors linked to him and artificially inflated the value of their commercial income to help meet FFP rules. City were also accused of using image rights to reduce their wage bill and of paying former boss Mancini for his role as a consultant in Abu Dhabi. City said they would not comment on the claims and the attempt to damage their reputation was organized and clear. >> The football disciplinary system swung into gear with both UEFA and then the Premier League saying they would investigate. City claimed the allegations were entirely false, but in February 2020, City were banned from European competition for two seasons and fined 25 million pounds by UEFA, who found them to have committed serious breaches of its regulations by overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts between 2012 and 2016. City were fined and banned for those two years, but after saying that they were disappointed but not surprised by the prejudicial decision, the club would later win an appeal against the charges. >> In 2021, Guardiola collected a third Premier League title and City's fifth since the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008, but still the Champions League alluded them as as lost to Chelsea in the final. That summer City also lost a court ruling by the court of appeal which confirmed the Premier League was continuing to investigate the club for alleged breaches of financial fair play. City's legal team did not want it reported that it was challenging the jurisdiction of Premier League arbitrators to investigate case in April 2022. Fresh allegations emerged in Der Spiegel suggesting the Premier League had been investigating City for 3 years with a focus on allegations of illegal payments for underage players, inflated sponsorship deals, and hidden salary payments made to Roberto Mancini. Both the Premier League and Manchester City declined to comment as City wrapped up another Premier League title the following month. >> Then comes 2023, a key year in this story. After signing Erling Haaland the previous summer, City were heading for another Premier League title, but in February they were charged by the Premier League with 115 breaches of its financial rules following a 4-year investigation. The club were referred to an independent commission over alleged breaches between 2009 and 2018. City were also accused of not cooperating since the investigation started in December 2018. City responded by saying that they were surprised by those charges. Particularly they said given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials they said the Premier League was provided with. A statement added, "The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent commission to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists they said in support of its position. As such, we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all." >> Well, the disciplinary fight would continue in darkness with no further information on the process given by either the club or the Premier League as City enjoyed the most successful season in their history. Riding the wave of Erling Haaland's 52 goals in 53 games, City won a fifth Premier League title in 6 years, enjoying complete domination of the competition, which had brought the charges against them. They also beat rivals United in the FA Cup final, but perhaps most notably, Guardiola also finally delivered the holy grail of the Champions League with Rodri's winner against Inter Milan in Istanbul sealing a treble only previously achieved by Manchester United. >> A success on the pitch brings something similar off it. By the end of the year, the club had won the Club World Cup and posted a Premier League record revenue of 712 million pounds. Then came an unprecedented fourth [snorts] Premier League title in a row, a sixth in 8 years for Pep Guardiola, with defeat to United in the FA Cup final denying them another double. But off-the-field issues still hung over the club. The hearing into the 115 charges got underway in September 2024, with the case in front of an independent commission lasting 12 [music] weeks, but with no immediate decision, leaving all parties in limbo and unable to comment. >> As that lingered, Liverpool won the Premier League. Pep Guardiola losing four successive games for the first time in his managerial career. And despite signing a contract through to 2027, City failed to win a trophy for the first time since 2016. The next campaign proved to be Guardiola's last at the Etihad. City finished second in the league, but won the FA Cup and the League Cup, ending the manager's trophy-laden 10-year spell in charge. A decade of success that for many now has an asterisk. >> A summer of change, and then the charges returned. Firstly, Enzo Maresca, Guardiola's replacement, was given more than 450 million pounds to spend on a raft of new signings. City start of the season was perfect before the international break brought the news that the footballing world had been waiting for. The independent panel that had been considering its verdict since back in December 2024, had found City guilty of all the charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations. >> The commission said the club arranged the sham contracts as well as relying on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs. Even claiming that a number of important club witnesses gave false evidence in key respects and that some knowingly gave untrue and dishonest evidence. It is a damning 40-page ruling that Richard Masters, chief executive of the Premier League, said details how the club systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade and one that vindicates the league's decision to pursue this case. >> Well, Manchester City are appealing, which given their stance throughout this is not a surprise. And they said the commission's report disappointed and surprised them. Their decision to contest it is on the basis, they say, that the opinion contains clear material errors of law, principle, and fact and is unsafe. The two, all these years later, remain at loggerheads with the rest of the Premier League and all of football looking on. >> But for how long? The appeal and possible sanctions should be decided in a lot less time than the case has been running so far. But there is still no end date. If City's appeal fails, then the punishments are wide-ranging and could be very serious. If it's a fine, how much would it be and where would that money go? If it's a points deduction, how many and when? If it's a lot, that might mean relegation, but there's also the option of expulsion from the Premier League. If that happens, where would City play? The EFL would have to agree to take them, but might only agree to a potential request to join if they start in League Two. Should we get that far, it'll all be decided by a different panel. >> And that is just the possible future sanctions because there's a lot to consider from the past as well. We understand there is no appetite to strip Manchester City of any of their eight Premier League titles. They have been the dominant force in English football for the last 15 years, but as the ruling reveals, they broke financial rules to do it. It might be easy for rivals and their supporters to think differently of all that City have achieved, but for those fans who have followed the club in this era and beyond for the Aguero moment, the treble, the four in a row, how will their memories be tarnished by those who run the club they love?