Man City guilty of all charges of Premier League financial breaches - ESPN

Manchester City have been found guilty on all of the 100-plus charges of serious breaches of Premier League financial regulations, the Premier League confirmed in a 1,545-word statement Tuesday.

Richard Masters, the Premier League CEO, said that the findings show that City «systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade.»

An independent panel's verdict found that City arranged «sham» contracts with commercial partners to artificially inflate their commercial earnings, filed «misstated» accounts to conceal the true nature of their finances, and «significantly» breached Premier League and UEFA spending limits.

City were found guilty of inflating the club's commercial revenue by £830 million ($1.08 billion) between 2009 and 2018.

The Premier League said sanctions will be decided in a separate hearing held by the independent commission. City faces the possibility of huge points deductions and fines, with the Premier League holding the ability to issue an ultimate sanction of expulsion from the league.

City have always denied wrongdoing and said in a statement that they were «disappointed and surprised» by the ruling. The club made clear that it would appeal the verdict and said it would be «relentless» in its fight to clear its name.

City were accused of a raft of financial violations from 2009 to '18 — a period when the northwest club, long in the shadow of great rivals Manchester United, was transforming itself into a record-breaking global superpower that has won multiple Premier League titles and the Champions League.

The violations included failing to provide accurate financial information and submitting inflated figures for sponsorship deals out of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, hiding payments and