Manchester City have been found guilty of breaking the vast majority of the 115 Premier League financial rules they were charged with breaching.

According to reporting by The Athletic, an independent panel has reached its verdict and found the club guilty of all but one count. The specific sanctions and penalties attached to those findings have not yet been decided.

When asked if the report was accurate, Manchester City did not confirm or deny the findings. Instead, the club released a statement saying the "Premier League process remains ongoing with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality." The statement added: "The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence."

BBC Sport has also been told that City will appeal against the findings. Meanwhile, other Premier League clubs are believed to have been informed about the independent panel's decision, with several already taking legal advice over whether they have grounds to submit a compensation claim.

To understand how we reached this point, we have to look back to February 2023, when the Premier League formally charged City following a four-year investigation into allegations spanning 2009 to 2018. The formal hearing finally got under way behind closed doors in September 2024 and concluded that December after roughly 12 weeks of evidence.

At the centre of the case was the Premier League's claim that City breached rules requiring them to provide "accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club's financial position." The accusations included 54 alleged failures to provide accurate financial information between 2009-10 and 2017-18, 14 alleged failures to supply accurate details for player and manager payments over the same period, and 35 alleged failures to co-operate with league investigations between December 2018 and February 2023. Separate suggestions from The Times and football finance expert Kieran Maguire placed the total count as high as 130 charges, though BBC Sport was unable to verify that figure.

City have consistently and strongly denied all wrongdoing, insisting their defence was supported by a "comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence." On the pitch, the period covered by the charges was among the most successful in the club's history, yielding eight trophies: three Premier League titles, three League Cups, one FA Cup and one Community Shield. The timeline spanned the managerial tenures of Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, as well as the opening two seasons under Pep Guardiola, who left the club after 10 seasons at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.

This case ran alongside a separate legal dispute over the Premier League's Associated Party Transaction (APT) regulations, which aim to prevent clubs from inflating commercial deals with companies linked to their owners above "fair market value." An independent arbitration panel found against aspects of those rules in 2024, and a February 2025 tribunal ruled the 2021 to 2024 rules "void and unenforceable." City and the Premier League eventually reached a settlement in September 2025, terminating legal proceedings after the club accepted the rules were valid and binding.

What we do not know yet is the exact nature of the penalties the independent commission will impose. Sanctions ranging from points deductions and heavy fines to stripped titles or relegation have been widely debated, but the panel has not announced its decision on penalties, and City's expected appeal will extend the timeline further.

The implications of this ruling will be felt across English football for years to come. I'll be following this one — check back for updates.