The news sensationally broke last week that Manchester City Football Club had been found guilty by an independent panel of 114 of an alleged 115 charges relating to breaches of Premier League financial rules.
A decision that rocked the Premier League concluded a three-year investigation into the club following an initial leak to the German newspaper Der Spiegel, which alleged that City were in breach of financial rules. The information reached Der Spiegel through Football Leaks hacker Rui Pinto, a 37-year-old Portuguese man who gained illegal access to incriminating documentation.
Now, Pinto’s findings have resulted in an investigation that has unearthed a multitude of offences that some say could put City out of the top flight altogether. The 114 charges cover failures to provide accurate financial information, co-operate with Premier League investigations, provide accurate details of player and manager payments, and comply with FFP (Financial Fair Play) and PSR (Profit and Sustainability) rules.
City fan reactions have been largely defiant in the wake of the findings, with lifelong fan of the club Noel Gallagher giving his view on the situation. Gallagher’s band Oasis are due to undertake a sold-out tour in 2027 that will include Europe and the United States, and the guitarist chose to ‘go let it out’ on Manchester City podcast Let Me Talk.
“I’m surprised because only that the club have assured us all along they have vehemently denied any of these charges,” Gallagher said. The singer-songwriter admitted that it was “quite sad” and went on to add, in reference to City’s dramatic title win against QPR in 2012, “we know what we saw, they won it on the pitch.”
Noel’s brother Liam Gallagher, also a devoted fan, took to X with an expletive-ridden post that read: “Only thing MAN CITY are guilty of is making the red cartel look like S**TC**TS hit me with your rhythm stick CITY CITY.” The Oasis frontman also teased that he had been told that somebody in a “very, very high” position had revealed that the club would be getting a transfer ban and a fine as a result of the findings.
The world waits to see if Liam Gallagher’s information is accurate, but for now, City find themselves facing potential punishments that include possible points deductions, financial penalties or even expulsion from the Premier League itself. The chairman of Manchester City, however, came out with a strong statement following the revelations.
Khaldoon Al Mubarak said: “Here’s what I said to my family: The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the Club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began.” The chairman went on to add: “While some people have been quick to reach their own conclusions, and there is so much noise swirling around us, nothing has changed. We have faced challenges together before and have prevailed.”
Manchester City have faced plenty of adversity in years gone by, as the Gallagher brothers will recall, having attended the play-off final in 1999, when City came back from 2–0 down to beat Gillingham in the Division Two (now League One) Play-Off Final. Paul Dickov’s last-gasp leveller in stoppage time, after Kevin Horlock’s 90th-minute strike, forced a penalty shootout that City won 3–1.
That game kick-started Man City’s resurgence following successive relegations in the previous two seasons. Promotion back to the Premier League in 2002 was followed by Thai investment arriving at the newly opened City of Manchester Stadium in 2007, with former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra purchasing the club before selling it to the club’s current owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group, in 2008.