German newspaper Der Spiegel published leaked documents, including emails purportedly sent between top City executives (some of whom remain at the City Football Group), across several seasons following the club’s Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008.
It alleged these showed the club had inflated sponsorship revenue from state-owned airline Etihad and state-controlled telecoms firm Etisalat by disguising direct investment from their holding company (Sheik Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group, or ADUG) as sponsorship income by channelling the funds through the companies’ accounts.
This, it was alleged, was a means of meeting FFP rules introduced by Uefa in 2011 – and PSR brought in by the Premier League in 2012 – limiting clubs’ permitted losses.
There then followed further allegations of misreporting financial information centred on documents that claimed to show secret ‘off-the-books’ payments to then manager Roberto Mancini via consultancy fees from a club in Abu Dhabi.
It is also alleged the club gave players more money than was officially going through the accounts so recorded spending was less than it actually was.
City, who have always maintained ADUG is a private fund rather than an arm of the state, refused to comment on any of Der Spiegel’s revelations, saying the leaked emails were obtained illegally, and they were an “attempt to damage the club’s reputation”.
City – along with the companies involved – strongly denied breaking any financial rules. But that did not stop both Uefa and the Premier League launching investigations as a result.