Manchester City Guilty on 114 of 115 Charges as Mancini Shrugs Off His Own Double-Contract Questions

Manchester City have been found guilty of 114 of the 115 financial charges brought against them by the Premier League, according to reports that emerged on Friday, marking the most significant regulatory ruling against a top-flight English club in the competition's history. Sanctions have not yet been determined, but the finding of guilt alone reframes a decade of City dominance, including title-winning seasons that predate the club's current era of success.

Amid that backdrop, former City manager Roberto Mancini was asked directly about allegations that part of his own salary during his time at the club was funnelled through a sham consultancy arrangement. His response was blunt dismissal rather than engagement, and that response is itself becoming part of the story.

What Mancini actually said, and didn't say

Mancini, now manager of the Italy national team, faced questions at a news conference ahead of Monday's Nations League fixture against Turkey. Asked about the allegation that a portion of his City remuneration was paid via a fictitious consultancy deal, he offered a pointed non-answer.

"Found guilty of what? It's not an issue that concerns me. It's nothing new because this matter has been discussed for the last four or five years. Manchester City has not been found guilty, and the alleged double contract is not my concern. It's their issue, not mine."

That quote, reported by BBC Sport, is notable less for what it confirms than for what it avoids. Mancini did not deny receiving payments via Al Jazira, the Abu Dhabi club at the centre of the allegation. He instead drew a line between City's institutional guilt and his personal financial arrangements, despite being named specifically in the claims.

A denial that leaves questions open

Independent reporting from ESPN frames Mancini's comments as him having "brushed off" the guilty finding rather than substantively addressed it, according to ESPN FC. Both outlets agree on the substance of what was said; neither reports Mancini offering any explanation of the underlying payment structure itself. That gap between deflection and denial is what keeps the allegation alive.

The verdict: City guilty on 114 of 115 charges

The 115 charges brought by the Premier League span the 2009-10 to 2017-18 seasons and cover three broad categories, as detailed by ESPN FC:

• Failing to provide accurate financial information, including 14 instances relating to manager and player payments
• Breaches of Profit and Sustainability Rules and UEFA's break-even requirements
• Failing to cooperate fully with the Premier League's investigation

City were charged in February 2023 following a four-year investigation, and the case was referred to an independent commission. A hearing held behind closed doors began in September 2024 and ran for roughly 12 weeks. The panel's finding, guilty on all but one charge, was confirmed on Friday, though sanctions remain undetermined.

City's response so far

City have not accepted defeat in public terms. The club released a statement insisting the "Premier League process remains ongoing with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality," adding that it had "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," per BBC Sport. The Premier League itself has declined to comment. That framing, an "ongoing process" rather than an adverse finding, sits uneasily alongside a 114-1 verdict.

It is worth being precise here: this Premier League case is entirely separate from City's 2023 Champions League-related case at UEFA, which the club won on appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. That distinction matters because the Premier League's domestic case has always been considered the more serious of the two, built on a far larger volume of evidence gathered over an eight-year investigation.

Why the 'double contract' allegation matters

The specific claim involving Mancini originates from German newspaper Der Spiegel, which alleged City paid a "significant portion" of his compensation "by way of a fictitious consultancy contract" tied to Al Jazira, the Abu Dhabi club also owned by City's parent group. Der Spiegel's reporting claimed Mancini was paid more for his nominal consultancy role at Al Jazira than for his actual job managing City, excluding bonuses and incentives.

Why a shrug isn't neutral

Mancini's time at City, December 2009 to May 2013, included the FA Cup in 2011 and the club's first top-flight title in 44 years in 2012. If manager remuneration was disguised through a sham consultancy during exactly the seasons covered by the 115 charges, that strikes directly at the legitimacy of results achieved under his stewardship. Mancini is not a disinterested commentator on this case; he is a named party in one of its central allegations, which is why "not my concern" reads as evasion rather than clarification to many observers following the case.

What happens next: sanctions, appeals and rival clubs' claims

Guilt has been established, but punishment has not. The independent panel must still determine sanctions, which could range from a substantial fine to a points deduction, with expulsion from the league floated as an extreme, if unlikely, scenario. City retain the right to appeal any sanction once it is handed down.

Rival clubs circling

Other Premier League clubs are understood to have been informed of the panel's decision and are reportedly already seeking legal advice over potential compensation claims, raising the prospect of unprecedented litigation between clubs over a decade of competitive results. If City's charges are proven to have distorted title races, European qualification, or relegation battles between 2009 and 2018, the financial stakes for affected clubs could be substantial.

The next milestone in this saga is the sanctions decision itself. Until that is published, City's insistence that the process remains "ongoing" and Mancini's insistence that none of it concerns him will coexist uneasily with a panel ruling that found the club guilty on 114 of 115 counts.