Manchester:Manchester City has been found guilty of serious breaches of Premier League financial rules over a nine-season period, leading the club to announce plans to appeal the landmark ruling.

According to Anadolu Agency, an independent commission determined that the club committed breaches between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons. These included arranging false contracts with commercial partners, misstating accounts, and hiding the true state of their finances from auditors and football regulators.

The commission found that these arrangements artificially increased revenues and reduced costs by over £900 million ($1.2 billion), which made the club appear compliant with financial regulations. Without these actions, Manchester City would have significantly breached Premier League and UEFA spending limits.

Additionally, City was found to have failed in its obligation to cooperate with the Premier League's investigation, with three out of four related allegations upheld. The commission noted that the club had attempted to obstruct the investigation.

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters described the case as the most significant disciplinary proceeding in the competition's history, emphasizing that the findings showed City had systematically broken rules for nearly a decade.

A sanction has not yet been decided and will be addressed at a separate hearing. Premier League rules allow for penalties such as fines, points deductions, and other sanctions.

Manchester City expressed their disappointment and surprise at the decision, maintaining their innocence and claiming that the ruling contained clear material errors of law, principle, and fact. The club confirmed its intention to appeal the findings and has until October 2 to formally challenge the ruling.