Man City's transfers prove they know something about the 115 charges we don't

Analysis

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

Manchester City have accelerated their spending over the past 18 months despite a seemingly imminent verdict on the 115 charges looming over the club.

The Etihad side, who deny any wrongdoing, stand accused of various financial breaches in what is the most high-profile legal case in football history. A hearing took place in late 2024 and early 2025, yet no final decision has been communicated.

Most experts expect a verdict to be made public before the start of the new season, but time is running out. It is therefore entirely possible that the matter continues to drag on and on.

The scale of the case and the length it has taken to reach a verdict are borderline unprecedented. 20 months have passed since the tribunal that should have unearthed all the necessary evidence took place, but the public remains completely in the dark.

If found guilty, Man City could be hit with an enormous points deduction or even enforced relegation. Despite the threat of a monumental punishment, it has been business as usual at City over the past 20 months.

Man City's eye-watering spending

Since January 2025, the Manchester club have spent a mind-boggling €695 million on new recruits. This summer, they have already shattered their club record by spending around €135m on Elliot Anderson, and they could sign another €100m player in Ayyoub Bouaddi shortly.

The Morocco international is being chased by various high-profile clubs, but Man City are currently pushing hardest for his signature. If a deal were to be struck, it would take the club's spending to almost €800m - and it surely won't be the end of their summer business.

The fact that Man City can continue to spend these gigantic fees (and wages) on players despite being accused of repeated financial breaches has baffled supporters, even if the charges relate to a period between 2009 and 2018.

To be sure, Man City have been good sellers, thanks to their excellent academy. They sold €100m worth of talent last year and more than €140m in the summer of 2024, before they embarked on their January spending spree.

Man City also generate massive commercial revenues and always compete for silverware and in the Champions League. This helps to balance the books, but their spending is nevertheless nothing short of remarkable.

Does it tell us anything about the 115 charges? Potentially, but it's purely speculation. It is possible that Man City are confident (or already know) that they will get off scot-free and feel they can spend without fear of repercussions.

Or, and this is surely more realistic, they already have an inkling as to what the final verdict will be, and it simply hasn't been made public yet. Knowing full well that there is a potentially disastrous penalty coming their way, they could be trying to future-proof themselves.

By signing the best young players in the world now - like Rayan Cherki, Anderson and Bouaddi - they are ensuring that the team remains competitive in the long term even if they were to be hit with a transfer ban.

It also allows owner Sheikh Mansour to protect the club's value (to some degree) should he opt - or be forced - to sell post-verdict. Again, though, we simply don't know since there has been no news on the matter.

Interestingly, former Man City advisor Stefan Borson has discovered that the club's lead barrister, Lord Pannick KC, is spending "more and more time" on House of Lords business, which is a far cry from the period between September 2024 and January 2025 when he was hardly seen because he was evidently busy with the Man City case.

Borson's information as of a couple of weeks ago was that no final verdict had been communicated, but Pannick is clearly no longer as preoccupied with Man City's legal matters as before.

Borson also uncovered that Man City's payments to Pannick are listed as private rather than coming from the government of the United Arab Emirates. This is notable because there has not been a formal ruling (at least not as far as Borson is aware) on whether Man City and City Football Group are the private property of Sheikh Mansour or controlled by the UAE.

The Code of Conduct of the Register of Interests states that a fee must be itemised if it comes from an organisation that "may be thought by a reasonable member of the public to be foreign state-owned or controlled."

So, with every Man City payment that is listed as private, "Pannick renews a considered professional judgment: that no reasonable member of the public could think Manchester City is owned or controlled by the UAE."

This only adds to the murkiness around the 115 charges. Whatever the outcome of the case, the Premier League will never be the same.

Written by

Tom Weber | Writer

Tom Weber is an experienced, multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer as part of his freelance work for FootballTransfers.

View full bio