An independent commission found Manchester City guilty of all charges concerning serious Premier League financial rule breaches over nine seasons, and guilty of most charges of failing to co-operate with the league’s investigation. The findings say the club used arrangements to inflate revenue and reduce costs, raising questions about the accuracy of its reported finances and compliance with spending limits.

The Premier League said that from 2009-10 to 2017-18, City used “sham” commercial contracts, misstated accounts and concealed its financial position from auditors and regulators, artificially affecting figures by more than £900m. The commission said accurate reporting would have shown breaches of Premier League and Uefa spending limits by a very large amount. City deny the accusations and say they will appeal, while any sanction will be decided at a further commission hearing.