Man City owners did not discuss Premier League charges with me, Andy Burnham says

Andy Burnham has said Manchester City’s owners and directors did not raise the Premier League’s charges against the club when he met with them.

The prime minister said he was “very happy” to set out details of the meetings, after they were published on Monday.

Manchester City have been found guilty on all counts of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules and “the majority of charges” relating to failing to co-operate with the league’s investigation.

On Monday it was revealed Burnham had a formal meeting with Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak at an investment summit, chatted to him in the stands at former City captain Vincent Kompany’s testimonial and was accompanied by staff from the club on official overseas visits.

Burnham was asked about the meetings during Prime Minister’s Questions by Conservative MP Jerome Mayhew (Broadland and Fakenham).

Mayhew said: “The Prime Minister sees himself as a man of candour.

“So will he tell the House, did anyone associated with the running of Manchester City Football Club raise the charges they were facing, and have now been found guilty of, either with him or any member of his team?”

Burnham said: “They did not raise those issues with me.

“I’m very happy, Mr Speaker, for everything to be set out in full.

“It is why I asked the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), in response to a call from the Leader of the Opposition and others, to set out a full statement of my key dealings with the owners of Manchester City Football Club.

“That statement was published on Monday, and it includes the issues in the news today.

“That is the position.”

Details of the prime minister’s contacts with the scandal-hit club and its Abu Dhabi owners during his time as Greater Manchester mayor were released by the combined authority earlier this week.

Burnham had told MPs that “all of my dealings” with Manchester City’s owners would be published.

A GMCA spokesman said: “In October 2021 Andy Burnham, in his role as mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.

“In his capacity as mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the chairman informally in the stands.

“These have been declared in the usual way.

“Also during his time as mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of mayoral international visits.

“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”