Manchester City artificially inflated its financial position by more than £900mn over a nine-year period in which it arranged “sham” commercial deals and overstated its income, an independent commission has found. The findings, published by the Premier League on Tuesday, showed that City had been found guilty of virtually all the charges laid against it in 2023, ranging from arranging sponsorship deals to disguise funding from its owner to breaching the competition’s spending limits.

The independent commission concluded that City “filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from its auditors and football regulators”, the Premier League said. “The purpose of these schemes was found to have been to artificially inflate the club’s revenues, and reduce its costs, by more than £900mn during the affected period, to appear to comply with financial rules.”

Since being bought in 2008 by a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, City has won the Premier League eight times and the Champions League once. Between 2009 and 2018, a total of £830.69mn was paid to the club via a funding scheme involving an Abu Dhabi investment company controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, sums recorded as commercial revenue but should have been equity contributions.

Richard Masters, Premier League chief executive, said the commission detailed “how the club systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade”. City said it was “both disappointed and surprised” and will appeal, with a deadline of October 2. Possible sanctions range from fines and points deductions to expulsion from the league.