Only £11m of the £145.73m Manchester City recorded as sponsorship income in 2017-18 was actually paid in by Abu Dhabi sponsors, according to the independent commission that found the club guilty of nine seasons of financial breaches. The remainder, in the commission’s reading, came from the club’s Abu Dhabi owners and was booked as sponsorship.

Maguire now wants that same question put to the years after.

The 33% jump

City’s commercial revenue did not fall when the activity examined by the commission ended. It climbed. By 2021-22 the figure was £309.5m, a rise of about 33% on 2017-18. The club’s 2023-24 accounts booked a further record at £344.7m. The sponsors driving the growth, most prominently Etihad Airways, Etisalat and Experience Abu Dhabi, remained anchored in the same market the commission had just ruled on.

“Given that City’s commercial revenues did not decline in the period immediately after 2018 there will be a lot of focus on whether those revenues are genuine or a sham and could result in further Premier League investigations,” Maguire said.

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What the commission ruled

The independent commission delivered its verdict on 29 September 2026, finding Manchester City guilty of every breach alleged between 2009-10 and 2017-18 and upholding three of four charges relating to a failure to cooperate with the investigation. The commission concluded the club had used “sham” commercial contracts to inflate revenues by more than £830m over the period, Sky Sports reported.

Sanctions will be set in a separate hearing. Points deductions, fines, transfer bans and expulsion from the Premier League are all on the table.

The appeal

Manchester City lodged their appeal on Thursday 1 October 2026, insisting the club is “innocent” and arguing the verdict “contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe”, Al Jazeera reported. A three-member appeal board will hear the case in private within 12 weeks and must rule within 30 days of that hearing. The decision is final.

That ruling will bind only the 2009-18 case. The Premier League and FA Cup titles Manchester City have won since 2018 fall outside its scope, and no separate investigation into the later accounts has been announced.

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