Manchester City feel the heat over financial affairs – what’s at stake

What are the key findings of the Guardian’s investigation?

In 2014, in Uefa’s first assessment for compliance with financial fair play rules, its Club Financial Control Body found Manchester City, having spent dramatically on players following Sheikh Mansour’s 2008 takeover, had made a €180m loss over the 2012 and 2013 period. That was hugely above the allowed limit of €45m. Parts of City’s financial submissions had been disallowed, including from the formation of two companies and claiming discounts for pre-June 2010 transfer fees, which Uefa advised was outside the rules. City’s £118.75m annual deals with Etihad and three other Abu Dhabi sponsors were also questioned very closely by Uefa before a settlement was agreed.

Related: Revealed: the scale of Manchester City’s FFP breaches before 2014 Uefa deal

So did Manchester City ‘get away with it’ in 2014?

Not according to the club hierarchy, who took a confrontational approach to Uefa and the new rules, apparently feeling they were designed to stop City’s rise and challenge to the established European clubs by stemming Mansour’s spending. Within Uefa senior figures argue FFP was always designed to benefit and encourage more responsible club finances, which have generally improved remarkably since the introduction of these break-even rules. Uefa argued it does not want to be banning clubs from the Champions League and tries to work with them towards compliance. That was part of the rationale for agreeing the 2014 settlement with City despite such a high deficit – and Uefa’s then secretary general, Gianni Infantino, was also no doubt seeking to avoid a heavy legal challenge to the new rules, which City were threatening.

What are the charges City are facing now?

The charges, being heard by the CFCB’s “adjudicatory chamber”, are not based on the 2014 financial position itself or some parts of City’s submissions being disallowed; that was dealt with by the agreed settlement. City are facing charges of having misled Uefa, after the publication of “leaked” emails and documents by the German magazine Der Spiegel in November 2018. They appeared to show Mansour had funded the sponsorship by Etihad, which City presented as a commercially credible deal, arguing the Abu Dhabi airline, and all the other sponsors, are not technically “related” to the owner.

Could they be banned from the Champions League this time?

Yes, they could. If the CFCB finds City’s financial submissions were indeed misleading that would be regarded as exceptionally serious. The CFCB’s “investigatory chamber”, which brought the charges in May, is understood to have recommended a year’s ban at least if the charges are proved. City vehemently deny the allegations and, when the charges were brought, said they had been subjected to a “hostile” process which ignored “a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence”.