Manchester City’s long-running case over 115 alleged financial rule breaches is still unresolved, even as Pep Guardiola’s trophy haul at the club keeps growing in the background of the dispute. An independent commission has not yet published a ruling, almost a year and a half after the disciplinary hearing finished.
Guardiola has led City to 17 major trophies in 10 seasons, 20 in all, including six Premier League titles, four in a row, the Champions League and a historic Treble. He began at Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2016, creating a two-year overlap between his tenure and the period covered by the charges, which largely concern alleged breaches between 2009 and 2018.
The case reaches back to the years after Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi royal takeover in 2008 and spans several sets of allegations. City are accused of failing to provide accurate financial information from the 2009-10 season to the 2017-18 season, failing to comply with Uefa’s financial fair play rules from 2013-14 to 2017-18, and breaching Premier League profitability and sustainability rules from 2015-16 to 2017-18. The club also faces multiple charges of failing to co-operate with the Premier League’s investigation between December 2018 and February 2023.
The allegations are thought to stem from claims first made in 2018 by Der Spiegel, which published leaked internal City emails and said the documents showed the club had inflated sponsorship revenue from Etihad and Etisalat. The magazine also claimed the club disguised direct investment from Abu Dhabi United Group as sponsorship income by routing money through the companies’ accounts. City have always denied wrongdoing.
That is why the unanswered question matters now. Guardiola is expected to leave at the end of this season, but his departure will not settle the dispute that has shadowed much of his time in Manchester. The outcome still depends on a ruling that has not been published, leaving the club’s recent triumphs and the allegations around them in the same unresolved frame.
