Burnham to ‘keep distance’ from Manchester City case – yet thanks Abu Dhabi
Andy Burnham has vowed to not interfere in the Premier League’s battle with Manchester City but admitted he hopes it will not harm relations with Abu Dhabi.
The Prime Minister said he would not get “directly involved” in the long-running case that has seen the club found guilty of more than 100 charges by an independent commission, calling into question many years of success.
The Premier League said Abu Dhabi-owned City used “sham” schemes to artificially inflate revenue and reduce costs by more than £900m over a nine-year period during which they won several titles. City are set to appeal the findings before any punishment is issued.
However, Burnham added he would be “concerned” to see Abu Dhabi investors, with whom he worked closely on regenerating Manchester during his time as mayor, sell the club in the event of significant sanctions.
“I have to keep my distance from it. It would be wrong for me to do anything else. It’s an independent legal process that has to play its course through,” Burnham told the BBC.
He added: “I do actually thank the City Football Group and the wider ownership for the money that they didn’t just put into the Etihad and the campus around it but also into the city.”
‘Concerned’ by any Manchester City sale
Asked whether he was worried Abu Dhabi investors would sell the club, he said: “Well, I would be really concerned to lose them. They’ve been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester. Obviously, the building of Manchester City into the global force that it is. I can’t intervene more in the process.”
The sporting scandal could trigger a diplomatic incident between the UK and United Arab Emirates, two close allies. City Football Group, Manchester City’s parent company, is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi United Group, operating under a company wholly owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family and vice president of the UAE.
During the interview on Wednesday afternoon, Burnham also compared the case to charges brought against Everton, the team he supports. The Merseyside club were docked eight points in the 2023-24 season for breaching spending limits, a ruling that also prompted a successful legal claim for £35m in compensation from Burnley.
Burnham, who was interviewed at Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium, said he held the view “very firmly” that the club was not “fairly treated in that process”.
“I remember people proclaiming Everton guilty at the time. With hindsight, I think more people would say that wasn’t fair, the way that was handled. It would be wrong of me to leap to one side given the experience that I’d had before becoming Prime Minister.”