Football governors quiet on possible FFP breach action
UEFA has refused to reveal whether City will face any action over allegations they presented false accounts.
The Blues have come under intense scrutiny after German newspaper Der Spiegel released details – apparently derived from hacked internal club emails – which seem to show the owners channelled funds through Abu Dhabi sponsorship deals in a bid to meet strict financial fair play (FFP) limits.
City were found guilty of flouting the FFP rules in 2014 and were handed a fine, salary cap, transfer cap and squad size reduction as punishment.
Der Spiegel has claimed that in a bid to meet the limits on losses, City’s ownership company Abu Dhabi United Group channelled investment into the club in the guise of sponsorship deals with Abu Dhabi companies.
They claim those deals were not as big as declared, and that owner Sheikh Mansour made up the shortfall.
It quotes executive Simon Pearce saying in an email: “As we discussed, the annual direct obligation for Aabar is £3m. The remaining £12m will come from alternative sources provided by His Highness.”
It is not clear whether Uefa is aware of the way City’s owners used sponsorship deals to boost their revenue.
At the time of City’s punishment, Uefa expressed concern about the size of some of the Blues’ sponsorship deals, feeling that they were inflated above the market value.
But they made no comment about whether those deals had been inflated by money being pushed through by the owners.
There is even an allegation that City had a sponsor stump up a £5m bonus for winning the FA Cup in 2013 – even though they lost the final to Wigan.
M.E.N. Sport contacted Uefa and was told: “We cannot comment on specific cases due to confidentiality obligations which UEFA must respect.”
City released a statement on Friday, after the first round of leaks gave details about the alleged agreement they reached with Uefa to avoid a European ban over FFP.
It read: “We will not be providing any comment on out-of-context materials purportedly hacked or stolen from City Football Group and Manchester City personnel and associated people.
“The attempt to damage the club’s reputation is organised and clear.”
But the latest revelations, more serious, have been met with silence from the club so far.