The intricate web Man City spun to con the Premier League

What the report says

BBC Sport reports that an independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of serious breaches of Premier League financial rules, based on a 40-page ruling published on Tuesday. The document says the club used a long-running “disguised funding scheme” to make sponsorship income appear much higher than it really was, while owners covered large parts of the costs behind the scenes.

According to the ruling, the arrangement began after City’s Abu Dhabi-backed ownership group realized early in the 2009-10 season that spending would need to rise sharply to build a title-winning team. The report says the club then used inflated commercial agreements over nine seasons, with most of the money coming from owner-related payments rather than outside sponsors. BBC Sport says the commission found that more than £830m was hidden in this way, alongside another £90m concealed through other expense-related devices.

The ruling also describes other methods the club allegedly used to hide the true source of funding, including a third-party image-rights arrangement and payments for contracts routed through consultancy-style agreements. BBC Sport says the panel rejected City’s explanation of the sponsorship deals and said some witnesses gave false or dishonest evidence. The club has denied the allegations.

The findings matter because they sit at the centre of the Premier League’s wider case against City and raise questions about financial transparency, cooperation with investigators and the reliability of club accounts. The full written reasons have not yet been released in complete form.