Documents reveal how Abu Dhabi fund Manchester City

Newly released ocuments reveal that Manchester City have been directly funded by a government agency in Abu Dhabi.

These documents were published by the German magazine Der Spiegel and shared with the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) network.

"According to the documents, Manchester City's parent company paid millions in commissions to players' agents, in violation of international rules, and was behind a secret triangular deal to sign an underage Spanish footballer," reveals infoLibre.

"Numerous Football Leaks documents reach deep inside the club, as well as the Executive Affairs Authority (EAA), an Abu Dhabi government agency that advises the emirate's crown prince, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on strategic policy. In addition, their financial operations reached Spain, where they used Mediapro, the audiovisual group owned by Jaume Roures, as an intermediary to camouflage their payments.

"The Football Leaks investigation now reveals that [Abu Dabi United Group Investment & Development] DUG's payments to the club were authorised by an Abu Dhabi government agency, the Executive Affairs Authority (EAA).

"Responsible for providing strategic advice to the emirate, it also managed ADUG's accounts. Internal documents indicate this. The agency's chairman, Khaldun Al Mubarak, Abu Dhabi's de facto prime minister, heads the state investment fund and is also chairman of Manchester City.

"According to the investigation documents, Al Mubarak approved the money flows that were channelled through the government and ended up in the football club's accounts.

"In addition, requests for payment of agents' commissions were sent to the EAA's legal director and an invoice to Etisalat, an Emirati state-owned company that sponsors the team, was sent by Man City to Omar Awad, the government agency's finance director. Neither Manchester City nor EAA officials have been willing to respond to Der Spiegel's questions."

Three allegations

Der Spiegel reported that the investigation is focusing on three allegations against Manchester City that involve moves for underage players, dubious sponsorships and wrongdoings in Roberto Mancini's compensation.

"Underage players were allegedly pressured to sign contracts with Manchester City through monetary payments, in violation of the rules," reads the article.

"Club sponsors in Abu Dhabi are suspected of having provided only a portion of their payments to the club themselves, with the majority apparently coming from Sheikh Mansour himself.

"Roberto Mancini, who is currently the trainer for the Italian national team but who spent the years from 2009 to 2013 as the trainer for Man City, is thought to have received a significant portion of his compensation secretly by way of a fictitious consultancy contract."