Manchester City is preparing to appeal a ruling by an independent commission that found the club guilty of artificially inflating its revenues by approximately £900 million over an eight-year period through sponsorship deals. The Premier League leaders dispute the findings, asserting that the funds involved originated from the Abu Dhabi government rather than the club’s owner.
The commission concluded that Manchester City and its parent company, Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), had engaged in “sham” sponsorship agreements, using money from ADUG to inflate the reported value of deals with sponsors such as Etihad Airways. The judgment was largely based on a cache of hacked emails that appeared to show City executives discussing the routing of ADUG funds through these sponsors to the club.
City officials, however, maintain that the financial support came directly from the Abu Dhabi government, which owns Etihad Airways, a state-owned entity permitted to sponsor clubs under Premier League rules. Club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak reiterated that the club has presented “irrefutable evidence” proving their innocence. Chief executive Ferran Soriano detailed this defense in a statement, emphasizing that bank statements, money transfers, and witness testimonies were submitted showing no involvement of the owner’s personal funds in the sponsorship arrangements.
Sources familiar with the case indicate that City’s defense includes documented bank transactions between the Abu Dhabi government and the sponsors, supported by testimony from government officials. Despite this, the commission rejected these claims, describing the government funding argument as “concocted well after the event” to conceal the true nature of the funding structure. City’s witnesses have also been accused of deliberately providing false information during the 12-week hearing that concluded in December 2024.
The club intends to challenge the characterization of the sponsorship deals as “sham” arrangements, a legal term requiring mutual consent between both parties involved. Etihad Airways has publicly denied the commission’s findings, stating it “categorically rejects” the judgment and is considering legal action due to what it calls the damaging consequences of the decision.
The Premier League and involved sponsors have declined to comment on the ongoing dispute. The commission’s case draws largely on evidence initially published by a German media outlet in 2018. Among the documents are emails referencing the routing of funds, including one instance where Etihad reportedly contributed £8 million to a sponsorship deal while the remaining £59.5 million came from ADUG.
With the case set for appeal before a panel of retired judges, Manchester City seeks to overturn the ruling and clarify the source and legitimacy of its sponsorship revenues.