https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...-city-after-scale-of-deceit-exposed-sw95fxp5h
La Liga demands action against City after scale of ‘deceit’ exposed
Spanish league chiefs have called on Uefa to take action against Manchester City after new leaked files revealed the full extent to which the club are alleged to have deceived the European body over financial fair play (FFP).
The leaked documents appear to show that tens of millions of pounds that was supposed to have come from the sponsors Etihad Airways was paid directly to the club by the owners
The club is also alleged to have set up scheme called Project Longbow to dodge FFP rules. The scheme saw a shell company called Fordham Sports Management set up which paid the players for their image rights instead of the club, with City’s Abu Dhabi owners reimbursing Fordham directly. The scheme saved millions from City’s wage bill and also allowed the club to report an extra €30 million (around £26 million) in marketing income.
Javier Tebas, the La Liga president, wrote to Uefa more than a year ago demanding action against City and Paris Saint-Germain and the Spanish league says the documents obtained by the German magazine
Der Spiegel provide clear evidence of FFP breaches.
Joris Evers, the La Liga chief communications officer, told
The Times: “Our position is clear. The leaks validate what we have been saying for more than a year.
“Uefa should now take action and apply the rules that exist and any sanctions that are necessary. Uefa should do its job in terms of enforcing FFP because, as we have said before, both Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are not complying with FFP rules.”
Der Spiegel has also reported that City’s manager Pep Guardiola is on a £2 million bonus if the club wins the Champions League.
The leaks are alleged to show that City backdated and inflated sponsorship deals with companies related to their owners in Abu Dhabi, and suggested sponsors pay out for the club winning the FA Cup when they were beaten in the final.
Uefa would not comment because of “confidentiality obligations” and City have yet to respond but, so long as it is within the time limit, it could re-open an FFP investigation into City if the full documents come into the public domain, or are sent to them.
The most serious claim concerns City’s sponsorship deal with Etihad. It is said that the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), Sheikh Mansour’s holding company which also owns City, directly paid £59.5 million of Etihad’s annual sponsorship, with only £8 million coming from the airline.
An email from City’s chief financial officer, Jorge Chumillas, to the City director Simon Pearce in 2015 refers to the Etihad sponsorship deal, which was worth £67.5 million annually. The email states: “Please note that out of those 67.5m pounds, 8m pounds should be funded directly by Etihad and 59.5 by ADUG.”
According to
Der Spiegel, City also manipulated their sponsorship deals with partners from Abu Dhabi — Etihad, Aabar Investments and the tourism authority — by backdating them. Chumillas asked Pearce in an email if they could change the date of payment for the sponsors. He replied: “Of course, we can do what we want.”
City were fined €20 million (about £17.5 million) for FFP breaches in 2014, and leaked documents at the weekend revealed that Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, struck a secret deal with the club when he was the general secretary of Uefa that meant that City avoided a Champions League ban.
Der Spiegel also reported that Ferran Soriano, the City chief executive, suggested that sponsors should pay out for the contractual bonus for the club winning the FA Cup in 2013, when they were actually beaten by Wigan Athletic in the final.
City would not comment beyond a statement the club released last week, which read: “We will not be providing any comment on out of context materials purported to have been hacked or stolen from City Football Group and Manchester City personnel and associated people. The attempt to damage the club’s reputation is organised and clear.”
Paris Saint-Germain yesterday lodged a case with the Court of Arbitration for Sport challenging Uefa after its club finance panel reopened an FFP investigation into the French champions.
