Andy Burnham has said he would be "really concerned" if Manchester City's owners decide to sell up after the club was found guilty of Premier League financial rule breaches. The prime minister said the situation was "contested by Manchester City" and praised the club's owners since 2008 - led by Sheikh Mansour, United Arab Emirates deputy prime minister and royal family member - for investing in Manchester.

An independent commission found the club guilty of the majority of the 115 charges they faced, a verdict that City are expected to appeal. The club continue to deny any wrongdoing and have until 2 October to submit an appeal. It comes as the Independent Football Regulator – set up by the government in 2025 – said the case had raised "serious issues".

Among the independent panel's findings were that City arranged "sham contracts" with a number of commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise secret funding of more than £830m. The punishment could range from a huge fine, being deducted points or ejected from the Premier League, to being stripped of the eight trophies they had won in the affected period.

Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester until June, said: "I do actually thank the City Football Group and the wider ownership for the money that they didn't just put into the Etihad [Stadium] and the campus around it but also into the city." He accepted there was "a lot at stake" for City fans, the club and Manchester itself.