Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.
An independent commission deemed the club guilty in the period between 2009/10 and 2017/18.
The report found that 'sham' contracts "artificially inflated the club’s revenues, and reduced its costs, by more than £800 million during the affected period, to make them appear to comply with financial rules."
These deals "misrepresented the true agreement with a number of City's commercial partners, as well as relying on ‘sham’ agreements with others, to artificially inflate the club’s revenues and reduce its costs."
The Premier League's statement also said that City were guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the investigation, alongside filing misstated accounts and concealing the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators.
This meant City were significantly in breach of both the Premier League’s and UEFA’s spending limits.
In the verdict statement, Richard Masters, Chief Executive of the Premier League, said: “The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period. It details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade.
“It also vindicates the Premier League’s decision to pursue this case against Manchester City. While the process to date has been both long and difficult, the League has remained determined that the facts be established independently.
“It is a key responsibility of the Premier League to ensure that the Rules, approved by the clubs themselves, are upheld to protect the integrity of the competition. It is paramount that the League remains competitive and fair for all clubs and for the fans. We take that role extremely seriously.
“This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history. There are elements of the case that remain to be decided, including, importantly, what sanction must follow for these breaches. Now we have the Commission’s decision, we are committed to moving swiftly through the remainder of the process, to provide certainty for the League, our clubs and fans.”
A redacted version of the commission's verdict has been published, with the Premier League saying they were able to do so "because the Commission has ruled (and an Appeal Board has confirmed) that the Commission’s decision is a ‘final award’."
They go onto outline: "Now that the charges have been proved, the issue of sanction will be addressed separately in a further hearing with the independent Commission. In accordance with Premier League rules, that hearing will remain private and confidential until such a time as publication of the outcome is permitted.
The club has the right to appeal the independent Commission’s findings and has until Friday 2 October to exercise that right."
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