Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of Premier League financial rules by an independent Commission, the league has said. The Commission found that between 2009/10 and 2017/18, the club arranged "sham" contracts with commercial partners as part of a "disguised funding scheme" to inflate revenues and reduce costs by more than £900m. The club filed accounts concealing its true finances from auditors and regulators, and breached spending limits set by the Premier League and UEFA. During the investigation, City failed to co-operate with the league, with three out of four alleged breaches upheld.

Manchester City deny any wrongdoing and have confirmed they will appeal against the ruling, with a deadline of Friday October 2. The Premier League published a redacted version of the Commission's report, covering "well over 100" breaches. The report states that commercial partners only paid a portion of sponsorship fees, with the remainder funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.

Sanctions will be addressed in a separate hearing, with possible outcomes including points deductions, fines, transfer bans, or expulsion from the Premier League. Richard Masters, chief executive of the Premier League, called the decision "the most significant in Premier League history," adding that the club "systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade." He stressed the league's commitment to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process. Manchester City responded with a statement expressing disappointment and surprise, asserting the process was not impartial.