Manchester City, the Premier League’s reigning champions, are confronting significant challenges with 115 charges of breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. These allegations cover a period from 2009 to 2018.
Background on Financial Fair Play (FFP)
Financial Fair Play (FFP) was established by UEFA in 2009 to curb excessive spending by clubs and ensure financial stability by mandating that clubs balance their income and expenditure over a three-year period. The Premier League implemented FFP in 2011 to maintain fiscal discipline among its clubs.
Manchester City’s Alleged Violations
The Premier League has accused Manchester City of several FFP violations, including:
Inaccurate Financial Reporting (2009-2018): The club is alleged to have submitted inaccurate financial information over nearly a decade, including details about sponsorship deals and operating costs like player salaries.
Misreported Manager Compensation: Charges include allegations that City misreported compensation paid to managers upon their departure.
Inflated Sponsorship Values: The club is accused of artificially inflating the value of sponsorships linked to their owners.
Reduced Reported Player Salaries: Allegedly, City used third parties to pay portions of player and coach salaries, thereby reducing their reported expenses.
Potential Evidence and Ongoing Investigation
Famous ‘Football Leaks’ hacker Rui Pinto claims he will release explosive emails and documents that purportedly prove Manchester City breached FFP rules accoriding to MailSports.
From his safehouse, Pinto told the OffShore-Alert Marbella Conference via video link: ‘The Manchester City releases showed amounts of money being paid into by the club that were not mentioned to the authorities.
‘These documents are from part of the Premier League investigation into City. I have now handed five hard drives to French and German authorities with millions of documents, including more on City and I have described what is on each.
‘I am confident they will find criminal relevancy.’
