European football’s governing body announced on Thursday they have opened a formal investigation into the Premier League champions’ financial conduct amid a number of alleged recently-reported violations.
A UEFA statement read: “UEFA Club Financial Control Body opens investigation into Manchester City for alleged Financial Fair Play violations.
“The Investigatory Chamber of the independent UEFA Club Financial Control Body has today opened a formal investigation into Manchester City FC for potential breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
“The Investigatory Chamber of the independent UEFA Club Financial Control Body has today opened a formal investigation into Manchester City FC for potential breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
“The investigation will focus on several alleged violations of FFP that were recently made public in various media outlets.”
UEFA had been looking into allegations published in the Football Leaks series by German magazine Der Spiegel that City systematically broke Financial Fair Play rules.
The revelations suggest City officials deceived UEFA over several years, including by disguising the source of revenue from sponsorship deals tied to the club’s owners in Abu Dhabi. The magazine also alleged City hid payments to former manager Roberto Mancini and artificially reduced their image-rights costs.