Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca says his players are refusing to let the club’s financial breaches verdict distract them from their pursuit of success on the pitch.
City were found guilty by an independent commission of serious breaches of Premier League financial regulations covering nine seasons, with the ruling finding that the club artificially inflated revenues and reduced costs by more than £900 million from 2009-10 to the 2017-18 seasons.
“They are not worried at all about different things. They know their profession and they know that the noise is there but they don’t care too much about the noise.”
Enzo Maresca, Manchester City Manager
The verdict has placed City under the prospect of significant punishment, although the sanction has yet to be determined.
The club has appealed the commission’s findings, meaning the legal battle is continuing while Maresca’s side prepare for a crucial trip to Liverpool on Sunday.
Maresca Keeps Focus On Football
Maresca, who succeeded Pep Guardiola in the summer after the latter’s decade-long spell at the Etihad Stadium, said the squad remains focused on matters it can control. “Personally I’m very calm to be honest and the Club has been quite clear so we trust completely the Club.”
City returned from the international break sitting at the top of the Premier League with a perfect record from the opening five games but face a demanding run of fixtures, travelling to Anfield before meeting Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League three days later.
Maresca said the players were particularly motivated by their position in the league rather than developments away from the pitch.
“The players are excited for the next two games. But especially they are excited because in this moment we are top of the league.”
Enzo Maresca, Manchester City Manager
Maresca’s comments come as City attempt to maintain their challenge for silverware while the club confronts one of the most serious regulatory cases in Premier League history.
Scale Of City’s Financial Case
The Independent Commission found City guilty of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules during the period under investigation, including allegations concerning sponsorship arrangements, financial reporting and spending limits.
According to the Premier League, the commission concluded that City used so-called “sham” commercial agreements to artificially increase revenues and reduce costs by more than £900 million.
It found that owner-linked funding had been disguised through sponsorship arrangements and that the club submitted misstated accounts to auditors and football authorities.
The commission calculated that City recorded almost £950 million in sponsorship revenue from Abu Dhabi-based companies during the nine-season period, while £830.69 million of that amount was found to have been funded by Abu Dhabi United Group, the club’s owner, rather than representing genuine sponsorship payments.
The ruling also found that City breached spending limits under both Premier League and UEFA regulations and committed multiple breaches of its obligation to cooperate with the Premier League investigation. Three of four alleged breaches relating to cooperation were upheld.
City have strongly rejected the findings and maintained that the commission reached the wrong conclusions despite evidence presented by the club. On October 2, the club formally lodged its appeal with the Chair of the Judicial Panel.
Rui Pinto And Football Leaks
The origins of the controversy can be traced back to the Football Leaks revelations associated with Portuguese whistleblower Rui Pinto.
Pinto obtained and leaked millions of confidential football documents, with material concerning City’s finances subsequently passed to German publication Der Spiegel and its European investigative partners.
The disclosures helped trigger renewed scrutiny of the club’s financial affairs and eventually contributed to the Premier League investigation.
UEFA had previously sanctioned City in 2014 for financial fair play breaches, while a separate UEFA case in 2020 resulted in a two-year Champions League ban after the governing body found the club had overstated sponsorship revenue. The Court of Arbitration for Sport later overturned that ban on appeal.
The Premier League opened its own investigation in December 2018 before charging City in 2023 following a four-year inquiry. The independent commission’s recent ruling represents a major development in a case that has stretched across more than a decade.
City must now await the outcome of the appeal and any eventual punishment before the full sporting consequences of the verdict become clear.
For Maresca, however, the immediate priority remains Liverpool.
“The focus for us is just what we can control and we can control just the football side. They are just focused in this moment on how we can beat Liverpool and how, together with the fans, we can try to win at Anfield.”
Enzo Maresca, Manchester City Manager
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