Prime Minister Andy Burnham met once officially with Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak during his tenure as Greater Manchester mayor. The meeting took place in October 2021 at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit, organised by the Department for International Trade, according to a statement from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
Burnham also encountered Al Mubarak informally in September 2019 at a Manchester City home game, attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial as a club guest. The GMCA confirmed Burnham had been a guest at City matches “on a small number of occasions” and that any hospitality was “declared in the usual way.”
The prime minister’s disclosure came after criticism of his public comments following Manchester City’s recent guilty verdict on all charges relating to breaches of Premier League financial rules. An independent commission found City had violated regulations over nine years, from 2009 to 2018, by using “sham” contracts with commercial partners to funnel more than £830m secretly into football operations.
Burnham, who was mayor from 2017 until earlier this year, said on the Rest is Politics podcast that he would release details of his meetings with senior City figures. “I will quite clearly put out there everything that I have done working with them in my previous role as Mayor of Greater Manchester,” he said. “None of it is recent, actually, in terms of the meetings I had. I only had one significant meeting, actually, and that was in 2021.”
The GMCA also noted that representatives from Greater Manchester sporting clubs often joined business delegations on international visits during Burnham’s mayoralty. This included Manchester United representatives travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire County Cricket Club visiting India, and City staff supporting delegations to China and Japan.
Shadow sports minister Louie French criticised Burnham’s handling of the situation, saying he “cannot hide behind the GMCA” and “must take responsibility for this himself.” French called for greater transparency about Burnham’s relationship with the City Football Group and said fans deserved full disclosure. “We have been given precious little information about these meetings, what was discussed and what may have been agreed,” he said. “If Burnham has nothing to hide, why is he being so tight-lipped? His bizarre intervention in defence of Man City’s owners has raised serious concerns among fans.”
Burnham previously expressed concern about the possibility of City’s owners selling the club following the verdict but later denied downplaying the findings. Some Premier League clubs were reportedly “astonished” by Burnham’s stance and worried about political interference in the appeal process.
The independent commission held a 42-day hearing in 2024 that led to the verdict. It concluded that “a number of important club witnesses gave false evidence in key respects and that some knowingly gave untrue and dishonest evidence.” City’s appeal against the verdict is pending before a separate independent appeal board. The club continues to deny wrongdoing.
Burnham defended his earlier comments on Manchester City’s owners during a recent interview, saying, “I don’t think I misspoke.” He explained his focus had been on Labour Party conference issues at the time and that he did not link those to the football charges. “The football issues are different from the investment issues,” he said.
Manchester City returned to action after the verdict with a 3-0 win at Liverpool on Sunday.
The GMCA’s statement and Burnham’s comments come amid ongoing scrutiny of the club’s financial conduct and the political figures connected to its ownership. The full extent of Burnham’s interactions with City Football Group remains under examination as the club’s appeal proceeds.
According to Joy Online.
