Manchester City

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Kieran Maguire, Football finance expert on X: "The Premier League commission accuses some witnesses of giving false evidence and being dishonest."

Mark Ogden, senior writer for ESPN on X: "The wording of the Premier League statement is so brutal that if Manchester City fail to win their appeal, the sanctions will be enormous."

Former Manchester City chairman David Bernstein on Radio 5 Live: "It is damming beyond belief. My immediate thoughts are, should the board continue? Should the people involved be suspended immediately?

"Very, very serious. I think it's really terrible. There's a school of thought with lawyers that is deny, deny, deny, but this is a football club that is part of a league and the whole credibility of the league is at stake here.

"The sanctions cannot just be financial, so it's got to be way beyond that. If the appeal fails, Manchester City cannot stay in the league, they have to suffer. And I say that as a supporter and a fan."

Manchester City fan and host of the Blue Moon podcast, David Mooney on BBC Radio 5 Live: "The book needs to be thrown at the club at this stage. If they are not successful on appeal, they've lied to the fans, the football bodies, everyone. The outcome of that is that everyone has the right to be angry at them."

Manchester City fans, how are you feeling now the news has been confirmed? Tell us

If you had the impression that the saga over Manchester City's 115 charges was almost over, think again.

Two years since the hearing began, the Premier League has confirmed that City have been found guilty of all charges related to breaches of its financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

City have said they are "innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League" and would pursue "appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe."

It appears the chaos and uncertainty is only going to increase now.

City fans, and the rest of football, are left to guess what the punishment might be. And when this all might reach a definitive conclusion.

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Manchester City have responded to the Premier League's confirmation that the club has been found guilty of breaching 115 financial rules.

City have until Friday to appeal the decision but in a statement said: "Manchester City FC is both disappointed and surprised by the opinion of the Premier League Commission, that has been published today.

"The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case. The club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.

"The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements uncompleted. Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.

"The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League Board and Executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.

"The club is obviously restricted in what it can say further until all future proceedings are complete."

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Manchester City arranged "sham contracts" with a number of its commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise secret funding of more than £830m, the Premier League says.

The League confirmed that City have been found guilty of all charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

An independent commission found that, during that time period, the club arranged the "sham contracts" as well as "relying on sham agreements to artificially inflate the club's revenues and reduce its costs".

The club continues to deny any wrongdoing and has until Friday to appeal.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: "The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade.

"It also vindicates the Premier League's decision to pursue this case against Manchester City. While the process to date has been both long and difficult, the League has remained determined that the facts be established independently.

"It is a key responsibility of the Premier League to ensure that the Rules, approved by the clubs themselves, are upheld to protect the integrity of the competition. It is paramount that the League remains competitive and fair for all clubs and for the fans. We take that role extremely seriously.

"This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history. There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches. Now we have the Commission's decision, we are committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process, to provide certainty for the League, our clubs and fans."

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Does financial cheating take away from sporting merit?

That's the question BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club has been debating after Manchester City were found guilty of the majority of their 115 financial rule breaches.

The club lifted eight trophies between 2009 and 2018, the nine-year period in which they are accused of breaching the Premier League's financial rules.

"There are going to be lots of grey areas in this one," former Chelsea player Pat Nevin said. "There is a great morality argument for other players to say: 'I deserved that and Manchester City took it off me'.

"I would love to know how much money is going to be spent by the Premier League on legal fees. This could all badly affect the English game.

"I'm sure all of these financial rules were brought in with the best of intentions but, if it goes badly wrong, this could well be the biggest own-goal in football history."

Former Premier League winger Andros Townsend added: "We all want the right thing to be done, but I do worry about the integrity of the league if the past 10 years are wiped out all of a sudden.

"The Premier League would become a laughing stock, but obviously the right thing has to be done in a legal sense."

Former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart admitted: "I can't get involved in the ifs, buts and maybes. I know what we did, I know what I did and I know what happened.

"Right now, I'm very confident and proud of what we achieved as a team. That won't change until someone tells me otherwise."

There was plenty of praise for Manchester City fans' "brilliant attitude" towards the situation away from the main debate, with Nevin particularly impressed by their graciousness.

"I've absolutely loved not hearing a sense of entitlement from the fans," he added. "They have been telling me: 'Yes we had great times, but if it all goes wrong then we have to accept it. If we end up in another division, we will still be there supporting our team'.

"I've actually been quite moved by the way they have been commenting on it."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

It is the biggest disciplinary case in Premier League history.

The outcome will define top-flight football in the 2010s - as well as this decade.

It is a battle between Manchester City and the Premier League - but who will prevail?

Last week, round one went to the Premier League as an independent panel found City guilty of the majority of the 115 charges they faced.

But we still don't know what the punishment might be, and City will appeal.

The chaos is set to continue.

It's a complex picture, and details of the case stretch back 17 years.

Here, we piece together City's on-field endeavours with the alleged wrongdoing to lay out the timeline.

Manchester City will put a hefty price tag on striker Erling Haaland if they end up being relegated from the Premier League over financial rule breaches. (Football Insider), external

Chelsea, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona are among the teams interested in Haaland and watching City's situation amid the possibility of sanctions. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

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