Praising the Emirati owners: British prime minister warns of the disaster of selling Manchester City
"I would be extremely worried."
Andy Burnham, the British Prime Minister, has expressed his deep concern at the prospect of Manchester City's owners selling the club after it was found guilty of most of the 115 charges brought against it for breaching the Premier League's financial rules.
An independent panel convicted City on most of those charges. The club are expected to appeal before the 2 October deadline, and they continue to deny any wrongdoing.
The panel found that the club entered into "sham contracts" with a number of commercial partners as part of a scheme to conceal secret funding of more than £830 million. The Premier League confirmed that City had "systematically breached the league's rules for almost a decade".
Set up by the government in 2025, the independent football regulator said the case raised "serious issues". It noted that it would weigh up the options available, including revoking the owners' licence, once the disciplinary proceedings conclude.
A hearing to determine the punishment could take months. The potential sanctions range from a huge financial fine, a points deduction or expulsion from the Premier League to stripping the club of the eight titles it won during the period in question.
Burnham: losing them would be catastrophic
Chris Mason, the political editor at the British Broadcasting Corporation "BBC", asked him on Wednesday whether he was worried about City's owners selling up. Burnham replied: "I would be very concerned about losing them".
Mayor of Greater Manchester until last June, Burnham added: "They have been a key partner in building modern Manchester, and certainly in building Manchester City into the global force it is now".
He continued: "I give great thanks to City Football Group and the other owners for the money they have pumped not only into the Etihad Stadium and the surrounding complex, but into the whole city", stressing that he was "certainly" confident his dealings with the owners during his term as mayor would withstand scrutiny.
City's owners since 2008, led by Sheikh Mansour, deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, have invested enormously in the city, Burnham pointed out.
A defence of City from Everton's stronghold
He made his remarks from the Hill Dickinson Stadium, home of Everton, the team he supports. The irony was hard to miss. Everton themselves fell foul of the financial rules when they were charged and docked 10 points for minor breaches in November 2023, reduced to 6 on appeal.
Burnham said: "Everton were in this position a few years ago, and you may remember that I defended Everton in that case because I still strongly believe they were not treated fairly.. I remember people condemning Everton at the time, and looking back, I think many would say the way it was handled was not fair".
He concluded: "It is frustrating that people rush to pass judgement. So much is at stake for Manchester City's fans, the club and the city of Manchester itself, but it would be wrong for me to intervene".
Manchester City, by contrast, issued a statement expressing their "disappointment and surprise at the opinion of the Premier League panel" and asserting their innocence of all the charges.
