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Why are there two Manchester City cases?
UEFA and the Premier League are separate regulators. UEFA’s club licensing and Financial Fair Play rules govern clubs seeking to participate in UEFA competitions. The Premier League applies its own rules to clubs in its competition. Each regulator ran its own process, with a different scope, decision-maker and appeal route.
That distinction matters when people refer to “Manchester City’s FFP charges.” The phrase often means the Premier League case, while UEFA’s earlier case was a distinct proceeding. A Premier League finding that figures would also have breached UEFA spending limits does not turn the Premier League case into a UEFA charge.
How the two proceedings compare
| Issue | UEFA case | Premier League case |
|---|---|---|
| Rules and regulator | UEFA club licensing and Financial Fair Play regulations, governing participation in UEFA club competitions. UEFA materials now describe a later financial sustainability framework. | Premier League rules governing the club’s obligations to the League, including its financial reporting, information and cooperation requirements. |
| Period covered | UEFA’s 2020 announcement concerned sponsorship revenue reported in accounts and UEFA break-even information between 2012 and 2016. | The League’s February 2023 referral covered 2009/10 through 2017/18; its 2026 summary says the Commission considered conduct across nine seasons. |
| Main issues described by the regulator | UEFA’s 2020 announcement focused on alleged overstated sponsorship revenue and alleged failure to cooperate with the CFCB investigation. | The referral alleged inaccurate financial information, including issues involving sponsorship revenue, related parties and operating costs, as well as information and cooperation failures. The League’s 2026 summary reports findings about sham commercial and other arrangements, misstated accounts and cooperation. |
| Decision and appeal | UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) Adjudicatory Chamber imposed the initial sanction. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) altered it in July 2020. | An independent Commission decided the charges. The Premier League says City appealed to an independent Appeal Board; its 2 October 2026 notice says the hearing is private and gives no outcome. |
| Status in the latest cited record | The original two-season exclusion and €30 million fine did not remain in force as issued; CAS reduced the sanction. | The League’s 29 September 2026 summary reports that the Commission found the club guilty of all financial charges and most cooperation charges. The appeal was pending in the League’s 2 October 2026 notice. |
What did UEFA allege, and what happened on appeal?
In February 2020, UEFA said its CFCB had found that City overstated sponsorship revenue in its accounts and UEFA break-even information from 2012 to 2016, and had failed to cooperate with the investigation. The CFCB imposed a two-season exclusion from UEFA club competitions for 2020/21 and 2021/22 and a €30 million fine.
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Those were the original sanctions, not the outcome that stood after appeal. In July 2020, CAS reduced the sanction. UEFA’s account of the ruling said the panel found “insufficient conclusive evidence to uphold all of the CFCB’s conclusions in this specific case”. UEFA also said many alleged breaches were time-barred under the five-year period set out in its regulations. CAS’s decision should not be described simply as clearing City: the sanction was reduced, some conclusions lacked sufficient conclusive evidence, and time limits affected many allegations.
What did the Premier League refer, and what has it reported?
The 2023 referral: allegations, not findings
In February 2023, the Premier League referred alleged breaches covering 2009/10 through 2017/18. The referral included allegations about accurate financial information, sponsorship revenue, related parties and operating costs, as well as failures to provide information and cooperate. A referral is a statement of allegations; it is not itself a finding that the rules were breached.
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The Commission decision reported in 2026
In its 29 September 2026 summary, the Premier League said an independent Commission found City guilty of all financial charges and most cooperation charges. The League’s summary describes sham arrangements and misstated accounts, and says the effect exceeded £900 million over the affected period through artificially inflated revenue and reduced costs. That figure is the Premier League’s account of the Commission’s findings, not an independently verified calculation presented here.
The League also says the Commission concluded that, if the figures had been properly reported, City would have breached both Premier League and UEFA spending limits. This is a conclusion reported by the Premier League about the Commission’s decision; it is distinct from UEFA’s historical CFCB case and the CAS appeal.
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City appealed the Commission decision. The Premier League’s 2 October 2026 notice says the Appeal Board hearing is private and does not give an outcome. The Commission’s decision therefore should not be presented as an appeal outcome or as unappealed in that latest cited record.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do UEFA’s current financial sustainability rules change the old case?
No. UEFA’s current framework is described through solvency, stability and cost-control pillars, and its overview says the squad-cost ceiling becomes 70% of club revenue from 2025/26, following staged thresholds. That is later rules context, not the exact test used to decide the historical case about submissions from 2012 to 2016. UEFA’s official materials also list the 2018 Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations alongside later Club Licensing and Financial Sustainability Regulations.
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The useful distinction is temporal as well as institutional: UEFA’s 2020 proceedings concerned its own rules and historic reporting, while the Premier League referral concerned Premier League rules over a longer period. The Premier League’s reported conclusion about UEFA spending limits does not replace or reopen the earlier UEFA process.
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