Manchester City found guilty of 114 Premier League financial breaches as appeal looms

Manchester City have been found guilty of more than 100 breaches of the Premier League's financial rules, a verdict the club says it will appeal.

• The Athletic reported Friday that the club was found guilty of all but one of the 115 charges, spanning 2009 to 2018.
• City were informed of the verdict in July, before spending more than £450 million on seven signings in the summer window, sources said.
• Chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak said the club's confidence in proving its innocence remained as strong as when the case began, and City intend to appeal.
• La Liga president Javier Tebas said City should face the most severe sanction available if the breaches are confirmed.
• Former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart defended the club and chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak on BBC Radio 5 Live, saying he trusts al-Mubarak's assertion of innocence.
• Hart said he does not expect the guilty verdict to stand and never felt the team was planning or scheming anything.
• The independent commission found City used sham contracts and disguised funding schemes to inflate revenue by more than £900 million
• Richard Masters said the verdict was the most significant case in Premier League history and a vindication of the league
• The sanction will be decided in a separate private hearing, and City vowed to appeal over alleged material errors
• The Premier League confirmed the independent commission found City arranged 'sham contracts' in a 'disguised funding scheme' totalling £830.69m.
• The commission also found City guilty of most charges for failing to cooperate with the investigation.
• Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the decision shows how City systematically broke rules for nearly a decade.