"An independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of all charges relating to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a period of nine seasons, as well as the majority of charges relating to a failure to cooperate with the league's investigation," the Premier League wrote on its website.
Manchester City artificially inflated its revenues and reduced its costs by more than £900 million (around SEK 11.8 billion) during the period 2009-2018 to make it appear that the club was adhering to the league's financial rules, the statement says.
The owners pumped in money
According to the commission, the club had several false sponsorship agreements, under which sponsors were only required to pay a portion of the actual sponsorship amount.
The remaining sums are said to have been pumped in by the company that owns the club. This is Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development (ADUG) from the United Arab Emirates, which bought the English club in 2008.
"This disciplinary case and decision are the most significant in the history of the Premier League," said Richard Masters, Premier League chief executive.
During the current period, City won the Premier League three times, the FA Cup twice and the League Cup four times.
The club has until Friday to appeal the conclusions reached by the investigation - which Manchester City intends to do.
City still denies
In a statement on Tuesday, the club expressed disappointment and surprise at the investigation's conclusions.
"The club is innocent of the allegations made by the Premier League, and there is a vast amount of indisputable evidence to support all of the club's positions in this matter," City wrote on its website.
What punishment City receives will be decided by the independent commission.
Several media outlets reported last week that Manchester City would be relegated, but it was only on Tuesday that the Premier League confirmed this.
