Manchester City have been found guilty on almost all 115 counts of Premier League's financial breaches..

The Athletic's resident renowned English transfer journalist David Ornstein exclusively reported on Friday that Manchester City have been found guilty on almost all 115 counts of Premier League's financial breaches.

According to Ornstein, the related regulatory hearings for Manchester City's breaches actually concluded in December 2024. However, due to the sheer volume of evidence, the panel had to spend considerable time meticulously verifying each charge and document to determine guilt and prevent wrongful convictions.

Finally, this three-year-long investigation was recently completed by the United Kingdom's independent football regulator, with Manchester City found guilty on 114 out of the 115 charges.

Currently, the punishments associated with these violations are still undecided, but under the Premier League's W.51 rule, Manchester City could face hefty fines, severe points deductions, stripping them of the Premier League title won in the years of the violations, and even administrative relegation.

The punishments will be announced on the Premier League website before Manchester City formally initiates the appeal process.

In addition, shareholders of Premier League clubs are holding an emergency meeting of key stakeholders to discuss subsequent legal advice and actions, including seeking compensation from the Premier League.

Manchester City neither confirmed nor denied this report, only stating that the Premier League's proceedings against the club are "still ongoing," with numerous procedures remaining and strict confidentiality requirements to be followed.

In its statement, Manchester City maintained its innocence and reiterated its statement released in February 2023, stating that the club has respected due process for the past eight years, based on the premise that the Premier League board and management can fulfill their supervisory responsibilities independently, impartially, and fairly.

Manchester City will appeal the verdict, and may even appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Manchester City was previously exposed by a confidential 2018 internal document published by the German magazine Der Spiegel, revealing that it had violated Premier League and UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) Rules for nine consecutive seasons from 2009/10 to 2017/18.

Subsequently, the Premier League immediately established a special task force and launched a four-year investigation into Manchester City regarding the allegations.

The list of violations Manchester City was accused of includes:

- Failure to provide accurate financial reports on player and coach salaries (2009-2018) - 14 counts

- Failure to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information (2009-2018) - 54 counts

- Failure to comply with UEFA regulations, including Financial Fair Play (FFP) Rules - 5 counts

- Failure to cooperate with the Premier League's investigation (2018-2023) - 35 counts

- Breach of the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) Rules (2015-2018) - 7 counts

It is worth mentioning that Manchester City had actually been penalized by UEFA for similar violations in 2020.

At the time, the governing body ruled that Manchester City would be banned from the UEFA Champions League for two seasons, however, the ruling was later overturned on the club's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Image source: Internet / The Athletic