The fate of Manchester City has not yet been determined, but reports that the club was found guilty of widespread financial irregularities have once again highlighted its rapid rise from a mid-table position to dominance in the Premier League following the transformative acquisition from Abu Dhabi in 2008.
Over eighteen years since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, took control, City has transformed into a dominant force in the Premier League and won the Champions League title.
This success was even sweeter for generations of City fans who watched the club languish in the shadow of local rivals Manchester United and even drop to the third division of English football in the late 1990s.
In its 128-year history, before being acquired by the Abu Dhabi United Group, City had won only nine major trophies, including just two top-flight titles.
However, billions of pounds invested in East Manchester from the Middle East brought eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups, seven League Cups, and the club's first Champions League title.
Nevertheless, in November 2018, the German news magazine Der Spiegel published a series of sensational articles accusing City of breaching Financial Fair Play rules.
In February 2020, UEFA found City guilty of violating Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, imposing a two-year European ban and a fine. This ban was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In February 2023, the Premier League charged City with 115 breaches of FFP rules between 2009 and 2018. On Friday, it was revealed that the club was found guilty of all points except one.
The Premier League's allegations included artificially inflating the value of sponsorship contracts from Abu Dhabi companies linked to City's owners, as well as concealing the true salaries of some players and managers through off-the-books payments.
City was also accused of unwillingness to cooperate with Premier League investigations.
Meanwhile, money continued to flow in, turning the club into a global superpower. In 2022, City ranked first in the Deloitte Revenue List as the world's highest-earning club, and recently spent a record £460 million ($609 million) on new players in a single transfer window.