Manchester City has been found guilty of all charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules spanning the 2009-10 to 2017-18 seasons, the Premier League confirmed. An independent commission determined that the club engaged in "sham contracts" with commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise secret funding exceeding £830 million.

The ruling comes after an extensive investigation into alleged financial irregularities. The commission found that during the specified period, the club not only arranged sham contracts but also relied on "sham agreements" to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs, thereby circumventing Premier League rules.

The commission's report, a redacted version of which was published by the Premier League, detailed that the charges encompassed "well over 100 alleged individual breaches" across four main categories. Notably, the commission found that a number of key club witnesses provided "false evidence in key respects," with some "knowingly giving untrue and dishonest evidence."

The implications of this verdict are significant for Manchester City and the Premier League. The club has been accused of deliberately or recklessly acting to circumvent financial regulations. The "sham scheme" is said to have allowed the club to avoid reporting what would have been the largest single-season loss in Premier League history in the 2009-10 season.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters stated that the "core decision establishes" the findings. The scale of the evidence considered by the commission was immense, with an index alone exceeding 750 pages and core documents numbering in the tens of thousands. The club, owned by Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Details revealed in the report indicate that sponsorship agreements, which were found to be "shams, or at minimum did not reflect their economic substance," were a key focus. Manchester City recorded £360 million in sponsor fees across three Premier League-winning seasons (2011-12, 2013-14, and 2017-18), with only £43 million deemed legitimate; the remainder was disguised funding from the owners.

Manchester City has until October 2nd to submit an appeal against the commission's findings. The club's ownership took over in 2008, and the period under scrutiny covers nearly a decade of its financial operations.

The Premier League's confirmation of guilt on all charges, barring one related to non-cooperation, marks a critical juncture in the ongoing saga of financial fair play investigations within English football.