Yaya Toure’s former agent Dimitri Seluk has denied receiving secret payments from Man City while the midfielder was at the Etihad Stadium.
The Premier League issued a statement on its website on Monday announcing the Citizens – who have won the competition six times since 2011 – had been referred to an independent commission in respect of a series of alleged breaches of rules related to club finances.
The alleged breaches concerned the reporting of accurate financial information, the submission of details of manager and player pay information within the relevant contracts, a club’s responsibility as a Premier League member to adhere to UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations and to the league’s own profitability and sustainability regulations.
Man City are also alleged to have breached rules requiring them to co-operate and assist with the Premier League’s investigation into those breaches, which the league says began in December 2018.
The club issued a statement expressing surprise at the announcement of the alleged rule breaches, which referred to “extensive engagement” with the Premier League on the matter. The club also said they held “irrefutable evidence” in support of their position.
Allegations that Toure’s former agent Seluk received secret payments from Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group are reportedly among the 100-plus list of alleged breaches.