British taxes on the move: troubles pile up for Manchester City

Manchester City, managed by the Italian Enzo Maresca, could face punishment that stretches far beyond the pitch if they are convicted of breaching the Premier League's financial regulations.

The newspaper Marca, citing Sky Sports, report that the Treasury Committee in Britain has written to HM Revenue and Customs, the body responsible for taxes, payments and customs in the United Kingdom, to ask about the tax implications of the Premier League's investigation into Manchester City.

Put simply, the British tax authority may examine whether City paid the correct amount of tax across the nine seasons in which they were found to have breached the Premier League's financial regulations.

Take Roberto Mancini's double contract, exposed by the German magazine Der Spiegel in 2018 through the leaks known as "Football Leaks".

Some of the emails published at the time suggested the Italian coach, who now manages the Italy national team, held two contracts. The first covered his work at Manchester City, paying him 1.45 million pounds sterling. The second saw 1.75 million pounds sterling paid every year to a company linked to Mancini.

That is only one example, and for now the consequences go no further than the existence of this information. Even so, Sky Sports report that the Treasury Committee wants firm confirmation that the British tax authority is looking into what happened.