Manchester City have been found guilty on all of the 100-plus charges of serious breaches of Premier League financial regulations, the Premier League confirmed in a 1,545-word statement Tuesday.
Richard Masters, the Premier League CEO, said that the findings show that City "systematically broke Premier League rules for nearly a decade."
An independent panel's verdict found that City arranged "sham" contracts with commercial partners to artificially inflate their commercial earnings, filed "misstated" accounts to conceal the true nature of their finances, and "significantly" breached Premier League and UEFA spending limits.
City were found guilty of inflating the club's commercial revenue by £830 million ($1.08 billion) between 2009 and 2018.
The Premier League said sanctions will be decided in a separate hearing held by the independent commission. City faces the possibility of huge points deductions and fines, with the Premier League holding the ability to issue an ultimate sanction of expulsion from the league.
City have always denied wrongdoing and said in a statement that they were "disappointed and surprised" by the ruling. The club made clear that it would appeal the verdict and said it would be "relentless" in its fight to clear its name.
City were accused of a raft of financial violations from 2009 to '18 -- a period when the northwest club, long in the shadow of great rivals Manchester United, was transforming itself into a record-breaking global superpower that has won multiple Premier League titles and the Champions League.
The violations included failing to provide accurate financial information and submitting inflated figures for sponsorship deals out of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, hiding payments and breaching financial rules established by the Premier League and UEFA, European soccer's governing body, intended to keep clubs financially stable by not spending beyond their means.
Between 2009 and 2018, City declared a total of £949.94 million ($1.25 billion) in commercial revenue from Abu Dhabi sponsors, but only £119.25 million ($157m) of that figure was paid for by the sponsors, the panel found.
During that nine-year period, City signed several star players -- including Carlos Tevez, Sergio Agüero, Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva -- as well as hiring Pep Guardiola as manager in 2016.
City also faced many other charges of failing to cooperate with the investigation between 2018 and '23.
"An independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a nine-season period," the league said, "and the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the league's investigation."
Masters, who has been criticized for the length of time taken to bring City to account, said the verdict was a "vindication" of the decision to take action against the club.
"This disciplinary case, and this decision, are the most significant in Premier League history," Masters added.
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The Premier League added that the "intention is that the full process (including any appeals and publication of relevant decisions) is concluded as soon as possible."
Man City said that a "comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case."
The club's statement added: "The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements uncompleted. Manchester City FC will now pursue the appeal avenues open to it, on the basis that the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe.
"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."
In a video message to club staff, Man City chief executive officer Ferran Soriano said that the guilty verdict was the result of a "Premier League conspiracy theory."
"This has gone on for so long that it's important to remind ourselves that the whole Premier League case against us is based on a single false accusation; that the owner's personal money was somehow and secretly put into the club via some sponsors from Abu Dhabi," he added.
The Associated Press and PA contributed to this report.
