Manchester City have picked their line of defence, and it runs through Abu Dhabi's government rather than the men who own the club. BBC Sport understands the club will tell an appeal board that it holds evidence the money behind its disputed sponsorship deals came from the state, not from owners Abu Dhabi United Group. Rules allow state-owned bodies to sponsor clubs, which is exactly why the argument matters.
The argument City plan to make
An independent commission found City guilty of 114 of the 115 charges brought by the Premier League, covering breaches of financial rules between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. It concluded that ADUG, the private investment company of Sheikh Mansour, topped up the value of commercial deals through what it called a disguised funding scheme worth £830.69m. City deny guilt and have signalled they will lodge an appeal by Friday.
The new twist is where City say the cash really originated. If the sponsors were paid from Abu Dhabi government money, the club will argue, nothing was disguised and nothing broke the rules. The commission has already heard a version of that case and did not buy it. It called the club's explanation untrue and said it had been concocted well after the event to hide what was really going on.
Why the ownership question will not go away
City have always insisted they are a private business and not a state project. Critics have long pushed back, and the new line gives them fresh material. Putting the Abu Dhabi government at the centre of the defence invites a louder debate about how separate the club's ownership is from the state, a debate the club has spent years trying to shut down.
It has not been helped by a detail that surfaced this week. Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak is listed as an Emirati diplomat in the UK government's directory of foreign representatives, and diplomats enjoy privileges and immunities under the Diplomatic Privileges Act of 1964. Al Mubarak spoke on Saturday of "irrefutable evidence" backing the club's innocence, and City describe the commission's ruling as unsafe, citing clear material errors of law, principle and fact.
MPs turn to HMRC
The pressure is no longer confined to football. Dame Meg Hillier, who chairs the Treasury Committee, has written to HMRC asking whether it has requested the redacted documents attached to the commission's report. She said she would welcome reassurance that the tax authority understands the public interest in the case.
Her letter follows a report from Tax Policy Associates claiming City failed to pay as much as £12m in tax because of a sham contract with former manager Roberto Mancini. The same report says a penalty could push the total liability to £24m. Etihad Airways, City's principal sponsor, has said it is considering legal action against the Premier League and rejects any suggestion it was involved in improper commercial arrangements. The Premier League declined to comment.
Case context: Manchester City found guilty of 114 of 115 Premier League charges by an independent commission | alleged disguised funding scheme of £830.69m | appeal expected by Friday | source: BBC Sport, 1 October 2026.
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