Manchester City’s 115 charges war with the Premier League explained after APT settlement | OneFootball

Manchester City have settled an Associated Party Transactions dispute with the Premier League but are awaiting a verdict on their alleged 115 breaches of the Premier League’s financial fair play rules.

In February 2023, City were sanctioned by the Premier League for having made 115 alleged breaches of financial fair play rules dating back to a nine-year period between 2009-18. Manchester City strenuously deny any wrongdoing.

Hearings were held for around ten weeks between September and November 2024, with Manchester City manager predicting in February that a verdict would come in the subsequent 30 days, with the footballing world eagerly awaiting a resolution.

Yet, over 18 months on from when Manchester City were first charged by the Premier League, the matter remains unsolved and it remains to be seen when the independent tribunal shares their decision with all parties.

A statement released by Manchester City on Monday confirmed that the club had settled a dispute in an arbitration launched by City over the Premier League’s Associated Party Transactions (APT) rules, with proceedings on the matter now terminated.

However, a resolution into City’s battle with the Premier League over APT rules – which only commenced in 2025 – leaves further doubts over why it has taken so long for a verdict on the club’s alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial fair play rules.

In an interview with BBC Sport in August, Premier League CEO Richard Masters said: “There is no happy alternative to enforcing the rules, it goes to the integrity of the competition – it goes ultimately to value – and that principle shouldn’t be defrayed in any way by being too difficult, too complex, or too costly.”

It is a fool’s dream to guess when a verdict will be made public, with Manchester City insiders within the industry remaining tight-lipped of late as the independent tribunal decides if and to what extent Manchester City will be held liable for wrongdoing – if they are guilty.

In his annual end-of-season review in May, Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said: “I suppose the only thing I can say is we still don’t have a ruling. Once there’s a ruling, I’ll be able to speak about it. Until then we just have to be patient. We will talk about it, I promise you, once we have the ruling.”

Manchester City’s alleged 115 breaches of the Premier League’s Financial Fair Play rules include the following:

1. A failure to provide financial information between 2009-10 and 2017-18.

2. A failure to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18.

3. A failure to comply with Uefa’s rules including Financial Fair Play (FFP) from 2013-14 to 2017-18.

4. A breach of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR) from 2015-16 to 2017-18.

5. A failure to co-operate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 to February 2023.

After a rocky start to the 2025-26 season – which has seen the Blues lose two of their opening trio of Premier League games, the post-international break schedule doesn’t get easier for Pep Guardiola and co – with Manchester City set to face Manchester United, Napoli and Arsenal next.