Man City in fresh trouble as FA considers fresh allegations

Manchester City could face an investigation by The Football Association into an alleged breach of third-party ownership rules after new reports were published by a German magazine at the weekend.

German magazine Der Spiegel, which ran a series of articles late last year alleging the club had tried to circumvent UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations, has reported that City broke transfer rules with the signing of Bruno Zuculini in 2014.

The FA said yesterday when contacted by Press Association Sport: “We are aware of the allegations raised in Der Spiegel and will consider them.”

The FA is investigating allegations that City paid £200,000 to Jadon Sancho’s agent when the player was 14, Press Association Sport understands.

Der Spiegel claimed City made the banned payment to agent Emeka Obasi in relation to the deal that took the youngster to the club from Watford in 2015.

Under Premier League rules, clubs are not permitted to offer financial inducements to a player under 16 or any person connected with that player.

On Sunday, City reissued the same statement they have released in response to each fresh allegation published by Der Spiegel.

“We will not be providing any comment on out-of-context materials purported to have been hacked or stolen from City Football Group and Manchester City personnel and associated people,” the statement reads.