German newspaper Der Spiegel are reporting that Manchester City have been under investigation in relation to illegal payments to underage players, hidden salary payments in light of a former manager’s compensation claim and inflated sponsorship deals. The publication states that the Premier League has been investigating the club for three years.
Both Manchester City and the Premier League have yet to comment on the matter. The news comes after previous allegations surrounding the club and Financial Fair Play concerns, something they were found in breach of by UEFA back in 2020 for the period between 2013 and 2016. The governing body began an investigation in 2018 after Der Spiegel published leaked documents in 2018.
UEFA then banned City from all European Club competitions for two years, however, that later was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. CAS said after that the club showed a “blatant disregard” to UEFA’s investigation.
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And now, following Der Spiegel’s latest reporting on the Premier League champions, working with the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) journalism network, more allegations have come out against the club. They claim that the Manchester club, owned by UAE deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour, have violated rules on three different bases.
The first allegation is that underage players were forced to sign contracts with the club through payments made to agents. That is in breach of current laws in place by governing bodies.
The second links back to inflated sponsorship payments, claiming that sponsors in Abu Dhabi are only paying part of the money listed on the sponsorship money while Mansour provides the rest. This is not allowed as owners are only allowed to invest a certain amount to offset laws based on profit and sustainability rules.
The third claim states that former manager Roberto Mancini, who is the current coach of the Italian national team, received a significant amount of his compensation through a fake consultancy contract with Al Jazira, also owned by Mansour. Both Manchester City and the Premier League are said to have refused to comment on the findings from Der Spiegel.
It means there is plenty to still be sorted before this potentially comes to an end. Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are among the Premier League clubs who will be interested in outcome of the alleged investigation as any potential punishment to a leading contender in the division would affect their fortunes. With the outcome still unknown, it remains to be seen whether any potential punishment from the allegations for City would impact the way all three clubs would run in the future.
