Mystery surrounds Man City’s payment as they are accused of taking £30 million in 2012 and 2013 disguised as sponsorship money from an Abu Dhabi-based individual, amid 115 Premier League charges
- A new revelation has been made about Man City amid financial breach claims
- City received £30 million from a figure in the UAE intended as a sponsorship payment
- The club would have received the payment between 2012 and 2013
Man City are accused of taking £30 million – disguised as sponsorship money – from a mysterious figure.
According to a 2020 UEFA report obtained by the creators of a YouTube video, the Treble winners received two payments of £15 million from an Abu Dhabi individual in 2012 and 2013, amounts that should have come from a club sponsor.
UEFA’s financial oversight body concluded that the payments, which were intended to come from UAE-owned telecom company Etisalat, were in fact ‘disguised equity financing’. It claimed the money actually came from City’s Abu Dhabi-based owners, which was against their rules.
City was found guilty of ‘serious breaches’ of financial fair play rules by UEFA between 2012 and 2016 and was given a two-year suspension from the Champions League. However, they appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which overturned the ban and reduced the associated fine from €30 million to €10 million.
CAS said most of the alleged breaches were “either undetected or time-barred.”
Man City have been accused of receiving a £30 million payment from a mysterious figure in the UAE
The payment received by the club – led by chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak – is said to have come from one of their main sponsors
Last year, however, the Premier League announced it had sued the champions for 115 offences, alleging they misreported their finances over a nine-year period up to 2018.
According to The Times, which has seen the leaked report, the alleged payments are believed to be included in the 115 charges, which City have said they will fight.
Unlike UEFA, and in a potentially significant difference, the Premier League’s rulebook means that none of the alleged offenses will be time-barred.
City declined to comment.
The report adds that during a UEFA disciplinary hearing, City’s lawyer named the person who paid the money as Jaber Mohamed and said he “provided financial and brokering services to commercial entities in the UAE.”
UEFA added in the report that the “obvious question” that was “not answered at any point” is why the company or the owners of the club would have needed “financial assistance from an estate agent in paying the Etisalat sponsorship obligations’.
The payments are said to have been made between 2012 and 2013 – and are expected to be included in the 115 charges City face for allegedly breaching financial rules
City boss Pep Guardiola hopes his side will not be penalized amid the ongoing Premier League investigation
City said Etisalat refunded the money to their owners in 2015, an argument rejected by UEFA.
CAS said the payments could not be punishable because they were time-barred. The panel also authorized City to receive similar payments through Etihad, the long-standing airline sponsor of their stadium.
Both the Premier League and UEFA stipulate that owners are limited in the amount of money they can inject. There are no such limits on sponsorship payments.
According to the Times, the makers of the film deny being funded by a Middle Eastern state or any other agency. They have kept their identities a secret.
City is believed to have geopolitical motives behind their work amid tensions in the Gulf.