What the Manchester City verdict says about Mancini’s contract
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 17: Manchester City Manager Roberto Mancini reacts during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and Wigan Athletic at the Etihad Stadium on April 17, 2013 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
The Premier League has published the Independent Commission’s decision in its case against Manchester City, and one section of it relates to the arrangements that have followed Roberto Mancini since the initial leaks.
The document identifies three separate devices used to keep liabilities off the Club’s books. The first, dealt with under Charge 1(B), concerns a manager rather than a player: the Club was found to have breached Premier League Rules P.7 and P.8, which govern what must appear in a head coach’s contract of employment.
The findings are these.
A significant part of the remuneration payable by the Club was not recorded in the coach’s employment contract, but instead in a consultancy agreement between third parties. The money funding it, £8.866m in total, came from ADUG, the Abu Dhabi vehicle that owns City. The Commission found the underlying agreements were “a sham”, that the Club’s expenses were understated by that amount, and that City “clearly intended to circumvent the PL Rules.”
The arrangement covers four seasons. Mancini coached City from December 2009 to May 2013.
No findings against Mancini himself in Manchester City case
Two points matter here: the Commission’s findings are against the club, not the individual, Mancini was not a party, and nothing in the published document makes any finding about him personally. The names are redacted throughout.
Second, Mancini said on Sunday: “I don’t think Manchester City were found guilty, quite the opposite.” The decision reads: “We find the Charges set out above proven to the requisite standard.”
City are expected to appeal and sanctions have not yet been determined.
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