Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour could sell the club if its appeal against the Premier League’s guilty verdict fails, according to Middle East analyst Christopher M. Davidson.
Davidson, speaking in an interview with The Athletic, said Abu Dhabi’s ruling family could decide to end its ownership if the verdict is upheld, citing concerns over the reputational impact of the case.
The Premier League recently confirmed that an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of serious financial rule breaches covering the 2009/10 to 2017/18 seasons.
The commission found that the club had arranged what it described as “sham” contracts with commercial partners to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs. City was also found guilty of three of four groups of alleged failures to cooperate with the Premier League’s investigation.
Manchester City has denied wrongdoing and appealed the verdict, arguing that the commission’s findings contain material errors of law, principle and fact.
Davidson said an unsuccessful appeal could change the position of the club’s owners.
“Once there’s some time to digest this, my feeling would be that they would extricate themselves,” he told The Athletic.
He added that the Abu Dhabi ruling family could view the verdict as damaging to its reputation and consider selling the club to avoid a prolonged ownership controversy.
However, Davidson’s assessment contrasts with comments made by City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak in June, when he said there was “no intention to sell” Manchester City.
“Manchester City and this group within the football world is a pinnacle and these sorts of jewels you don’t sell,” Al Mubarak said.
Davidson maintained that an upheld guilty verdict on appeal could significantly alter the owners’ position and potentially lead to a sale of the Etihad club.