Manchester City have been found guilty of serious financial breaches stretching across almost a decade, with an independent commission ruling that the club used "sham" commercial agreements to artificially inflate revenues by more than £900 million.The bombshell verdict was announced by the Premier League on Tuesday following an extraordinary regulatory process that has lasted almost two years.##TWITTER_<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨 The Premier League has confirmed Manchester City are guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of financial rules and hit out at them for arranging “sham contracts”.<br><br>The club have until Friday to appeal.<br><br>Find out what the independent Commission found below ⤵️… <a href="https://t.co/3wIy0TAWjI">pic.twitter.com/3wIy0TAWjI</a></p>— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) <a href="https://x.com/TeleFootball/status/2104965833747214702?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>##The independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of the EPL's financial rules between 2009/10 and 2017/18, as well as the majority of charges concerning the club's failure to cooperate with the investigation.And the findings are damning.According to the commission, City arranged "sham" contracts with commercial partners as part of a disguised funding scheme. The agreements allegedly allowed the club to report revenues and costs inaccurately, with the commission concluding that the arrangements were intended to circumvent Premier League regulations.##TWITTER_<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨🚨🚨<br><br>Premier League v Manchester City decision ruling details how club misstated finances in a nine-year period from 2009-18 by £920.7million<br><br>Revenue overstated by £854.5m<br>Expenditure understated by £66.2m <a href="https://t.co/dxTsHFhJqU">pic.twitter.com/dxTsHFhJqU</a></p>— Chris (@CWeatherspoon_) <a href="https://x.com/CWeatherspoon_/status/2104965978585231432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 29, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>##The club was also found to have filed misstated accounts and concealed the true state of its finances from auditors and football regulators. Had the agreements been reported accurately, the commission found that City would have breached both Premier League and UEFA spending limits by a “very substantial amount”.The verdict also found City guilty of multiple breaches of their duty to cooperate with the Premier League, concluding that the club had made "concerted efforts" to frustrate the investigation.##LINKED_NEWS_69406##Now comes the potentially seismic part – City have not yet been punished. The sanctions will be determined at a separate hearing, meaning the consequences of the verdict are still to come. Premier League rules allow for a range of sanctions, including fines, points deductions and other sporting penalties.City, meanwhile, have immediately rejected the findings and confirmed they will appeal.The club said it was "disappointed and surprised" by the commission's decision, insisted it was "innocent of the accusations" and claimed that the ruling contains "clear material errors, of law, principle and fact".##LINKED_NEWS_69369##The Cityzens ave until Friday, October 2 to lodge their appeal.Premier League chief executive Richard Masters, however, described the ruling as vindication of the decision to pursue the case."The core decision establishes the facts of what happened at Manchester City during this period," Masters said, adding that the commission had detailed how the club "systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade".22.00: (1.57) Gabon (3.50) Niger (6.25)He went even further."This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history," Masters said.For a club that has won eight Premier League titles since Sheikh Mansour's 2008 takeover, the verdict opens an extraordinary new chapter. The guilty verdict is in. The punishment is not. And City's fight is only just beginning.