By Adegboyega Adeleye
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he would be “really concerned” if Manchester City’s owners decide to sell the club following its guilty verdict over Premier League financial rule breaches.
According to the BBC, Burnham said he would be concerned to lose the City Football Group, praising its ownership since 2008 for its investment in Manchester. The comments came after an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of the majority of the 115 charges brought against the club, a verdict City are expected to appeal.
City continue to deny any wrongdoing and have until October 2 to submit an appeal.
Burnham said the situation remained “contested by Manchester City” and stressed that it would be wrong for him to intervene while the disciplinary process is ongoing.
“I would be really concerned to lose them,” Burnham told the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason.
“They’ve been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester and obviously the building of Manchester City into the global force that it is.”
The comments come as the Independent Football Regulator, established by the UK government in 2025, said the case had raised “serious issues”.
The regulator has indicated that it could explore options, including whether to remove the owners’ licence to operate the club, once the disciplinary process has concluded.
Among the independent panel’s findings were that Manchester City arranged “sham contracts” with commercial partners as part of a scheme to disguise more than £830 million in secret funding.
The Premier League said City had “systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade”.
A sanctions hearing will determine the punishment, although the process could take months. City will also be able to appeal any sanction imposed.
Possible punishments include a substantial fine, points deduction or expulsion from the Premier League, while the club could also face the stripping of trophies won during the period covered by the charges.
Burnham, who served as mayor of Greater Manchester before becoming prime minister, also defended his previous interactions with City’s owners.
“I do actually thank the City Football Group and the wider ownership for the money that they didn’t just put into the Etihad [Stadium] and the campus around it but also into the city,” he said.
He added that he was confident his dealings with the owners while mayor would “stand up to scrutiny”.
Burnham also drew on Everton’s previous experience with Premier League financial rules, saying he had fought for the club when it was deducted 10 points in 2023, a punishment later reduced to six points on appeal.
“So it would be wrong of me to leap to one side given the experience that I’d had before becoming prime minister,” he said.
“It is frustrating when people rush to judgement.”
Burnham acknowledged that “a lot” was at stake for Manchester City, its supporters and the wider city, but maintained that he should not intervene in the case.
Manchester City have described themselves as “both disappointed and surprised” by the commission’s findings and continue to maintain their innocence.
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