Manchester City have been reported to the European Union for allegedly committing their own ‘Enron’ fraud, according to outspoken La Liga president Javier Tebas.
City currently find themselves waiting for a verdict on alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules set out by the Premier League between 2009 and 2018, but strenuously deny the allegations. However, these new allegations from Tebas suggest that City have spread their losses and hidden them in a series of related marketing and scouting companies in an attempt to manipulate their financial fair play figures.
If true, would lead to them facing a hefty punishment. This practice first became notable after the Enron scandal which rocked the United States amid a massive accounting fraud and bankruptcy case worth billions.
Speaking at the Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit, Tebas admitted he had reported City to the EU directly and was awaiting a response. “All they do is they think about how they can avoid the rules and regulations,” the La Liga chief said in a fiery statement.
“We have reported this to the European Union with facts and figures. The UK might not be part of the EU but City have commercial activities in Europe and in July 2023 the EU ruling said that they could look at state-aided companies, whether they are based in the EU or not.
“So we asked for City to be checked. It’s very important that all clubs are subject to the same transparency rules and governance on both the sporting and financial side.
“We haven’t had a reply so it must be under the investigation phase. The City case is one where we believe they have put the losses on the companies that are not officially part of City Football Group.
“You remember the case in the USA, the Enron case. They put losses into different companies. These are similar cases.
“We also reported City about sponsorship and capital contributions. They have a scouting company, a marketing company.
“That’s where they have very high expenses. They invoice City for less money. City have costs that are less than if they didn’t have this circle of companies around.”
Responding to the allegations originally printed by our sister title The Mirror, City say Tebas has a long history of attacking the club and refused to comment. But the club strongly refute the allegations and pointed to their accounts as proof of no wrongdoing which are a matter of public record.
