Manchester City have been found guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules covering a nine-season period, following a ruling by an independent Commission.

The Premier League announced the findings on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, after publishing a redacted version of the Commission’s Core Decision.

The Commission found City guilty of all charges relating to the alleged financial breaches and most of the charges concerning the club’s failure to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation.

The findings cover the 2009/10 to 2017/18 seasons.

According to the Premier League, the Commission found that City arranged and relied on what it described as “sham” commercial agreements with some of its partners, allegedly allowing the club to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs by more than £900 million.

The Commission also found that the club filed misstated accounts and concealed what it described as the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators.

It further concluded that City had breached both Premier League and UEFA spending limits by a significant margin.

The Premier League said some of the sponsorship arrangements involved companies paying only part of the agreed fees, with the remainder funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd, the club’s owner.

The Commission concluded that the arrangements were intended to circumvent Premier League financial rules.

The ruling also found City guilty of three of four alleged breaches relating to its conduct during the League’s investigation, with the Commission concluding that the club had “made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the PL investigation.”

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters described the ruling as a landmark decision for the competition.

“The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade,” Masters said.

He added that the case was “the most significant in Premier League history,” while noting that the issue of sanctions was yet to be determined.

The Premier League said a separate hearing would be held to determine the appropriate sanctions, which could include fines, points deductions and other sporting penalties.

Manchester City have the right to appeal the Commission’s findings and must decide whether to do so by Friday, October 2.

The Premier League began its investigation into the club in December 2018, while a formal complaint was issued in February 2023.

The independent Commission held a 42-day hearing that concluded in December 2024. The Premier League said the ruling took longer than expected partly because of the volume of evidence, including about 7,000 pages of witness and expert transcripts.