Jesse Marsch, former Leeds United manager and current Canada national team coach, claims that everyone was aware of Manchester City's financial misconduct and calls for the club to be relegated from the Premier League following their guilty verdict. The independent commission found City guilty of inflating sponsorship deals with £900 million in disguised payments over nine years. Marsch criticizes Man City’s reported profits in 2022, questioning their acquisition of Erling Haaland and other financial claims, while highlighting Leeds' own financial struggles despite selling players to Manchester City.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Jesse Marsch, former manager of Leeds United and current coach of the Canadian men's soccer team, called for Manchester City to be severely punished after the club was found guilty of serious breaches of Premier League financial rules over nine seasons from 2009-10 to 2017-18. The league accused City of using "sham" commercial contracts to inflate revenue and understate costs by more than £900 million ($1.19 billion). Marsch, who managed against Manchester City during his time in England, said the disparity between clubs had been evident to him. He suggested that everyone knew about the alleged cheating and called for the club to be relegated from the Premier League. Manchester City has denied wrongdoing, stating the verdict contained material errors of law, principle, and fact, and filed an appeal on Thursday against the independent commission's ruling.
Written for “Manchester City Punishment Calls” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Former Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch has insisted 'everyone knew' about Manchester City's cheating and has called for the club to be relegated from the Premier League after being found guilty of breaching financial rules.
asserted
club → insist → rules
Marsch was appointed as Leeds boss in February 2022 but was sacked 12 months later as the club battled to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
asserted
club → appoint → League
The 52-year-old, who is now in charge of Canada, was asked about an independent commission ruling verdict that ruled Man City had disguised payments worth £900million in a nine-year period peppered with ‘sham’ deals.
asserted
City → ask → deals
In a damning 40-page verdict, published on Tuesday, found City artificially inflated sponsorship agreements and pumped money into the club from its Abu Dhabi owners via disguised payments in a bid to swerve Premier League spending rules.
asserted
City → publish → rules
While the ruling covered the period between 2009-2018, Marsch expressed his belief that there were 'inconsistencies' even during his time in the Premier League.
asserted
Marsch → cover → League
Marsch told the Guardian that Man City should be relegated from the top flight as a result of the verdict.
asserted
City → tell → verdict
Man City confirmed on Friday that they have lodged an appeal to overturn the independent commission's verdict.
asserted
they → confirm → verdict
Jesse Marsch, left, has claimed 'everyone knew' about Man City's cheating as he called for the club to be relegated from the top flight
Manchester City have been found guilty of the vast majority of charges against them by the Premier League, but have launched an appeal against the decision
'
asserted
City → claim → decision
I think Man City should be punished severely.
asserted
City → think → ?
I think they should have to go down, and by the way, everyone knew about it.
asserted
everyone → think → it
Everyone knew,' Marsch said.
asserted
Marsch → know → ?
'That summer [2022], us and Man City were the only teams that said we made money.
asserted
we → say → money
For us, we did make money, because we sold Raphinha, we sold Kalvin Phillips [to City].
asserted
we → make → City
We had a lot left over from what we bought.
asserted
we → have → what
At the time, we weren't in a position financially to not save.
asserted
we → save → position
Our ownership didn't have deep pockets.
asserted
ownership → have → pockets
'Whereas when Man City says this, I was literally like, "Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of joke?"
asserted
this → say → joke
'When they said they got Erling Haaland for £52m, it's like: "Yeah, OK, sure".
asserted
it → say → 52
'So, I knew there were inconsistencies in it, but what can you do?
asserted
you → know → what
You just put your arms in the air and go, "This is football".
asserted
This → put → air
The 2022 summer referred to by Marsch had seen clubs reveal their accounts for the 2020-21 season, which had been played behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
asserted
which → refer → pandemic
Marsch questioned Man City announcing profits in the summer of 2022, along with questioning their £52m deal to sign his former player Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund
Man City signed Kalvin Phillips from Leeds in the summer of 2022 in a £42million transfer
Leeds announced an operating profit of £5.5m, with the club's income having been boosted by their return to the top flight following promotion from the Championship the previous campaign.
Man City reported a narrow £2.4m profit in the same period having reported losses of £126m in the 2019-20 season.
The club's run to the 2021 Champions League final and their fourth Premier League title under Pep Guardiola were cited as key reasons for their financial success.
asserted
run → question → success
Marsch's comments also highlighted the summer transfer window in 2022, which saw Man City sign Haaland for £52m and bring in Phillips from his Leeds side in a £42m deal.
asserted
City → highlight → deal
Leeds also sold Brazilian star Raphinha to Barcelona for £55m, with the club using the finances from both deals to fund close to £140m of incomings.
asserted
club → sell → incomings
Leeds, who sacked Marsch in February 2023, were relegated at the end of the season.
asserted
who → sack → season
Daily Mail Sport reported last week that the Premier League could review transactions following 2018, the final year covered by their investigation into Man City.
uncertain
League → report → City
Man City's appeal against the independent commission verdict was made on Friday, with the club stating it 'maintains its innocence'.
asserted
it → make → innocence
Much of their defence will claim commercial contracts were paid for by the Abu Dhabi government rather than their owner.
uncertain
contracts → claim → government
The Aporia
