Andy Burnham, former mayor of Greater Manchester and current prime minister, attended two hospitality dinners with Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak during his tenure, though these meetings were not detailed in a recent official statement. The dinners took place at Etihad Stadium matches in August 2017 and April 2018, according to a now-deleted register of declarations from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
The August 2017 dinner, valued at £300, was shared with then-Manchester City Council leader Richard Leese and the club chairman during an Everton match. The second, in April 2018, coincided with the Manchester City versus Manchester United derby and was valued at approximately £699. Burnham had previously declared these dinners alongside a £150 pair of tickets to an Ed Sheeran concert at the stadium in May 2018.
The GMCA’s statement issued on Monday confirmed Burnham’s formal meeting with Al Mubarak in October 2021 at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit, arranged by the Department for International Trade. It also noted an informal encounter with the chairman in the stands during a 2019 testimonial match for former player Vincent Kompany. The statement included that Burnham was a guest of Manchester City at home matches “on a small number of occasions,” but it did not specify the two dinners.
Downing Street defended the hospitality, stating the dinners were part of hospitality received at home games and had been declared. The prime minister has faced growing calls to clarify his interactions with Manchester City amid controversy surrounding the club’s recent financial breaches.
An independent Premier League commission found Manchester City guilty in September of “systematically” breaking financial regulations over a nine-year period from 2009 to 2018. The club allegedly created “sham” contracts with commercial partners to funnel more than £830 million into football operations. City denies any wrongdoing and has lodged an appeal against the verdict. Sanctions have yet to be announced.
Burnham came under immediate pressure following comments last month when he said he would be “really concerned” if the club’s owners sold the team now. Tory shadow sports minister Louie French said: “Andy Burnham promised the country and House of Commons full transparency on his dealings with Manchester City. This was essential after his inappropriate intervention into football.”
Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick accused Burnham of “concealing his extensive links to Man City’s owners,” calling the situation a “saga” that “stinks.” Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has demanded the release of all details of meetings between Burnham and senior Manchester City figures.
Burnham told the Rest Is Politics podcast last week he was “happy” to disclose everything from his time as mayor, adding: “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.”
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Burnham said no one at the club raised the financial charges with him or his team. He described the GMCA’s statement as “a full statement of my key dealings with the owners of Manchester City Football Club” and welcomed transparency.
When reporters asked why the statement omitted the two dinners and what distinguished “everything” from “key dealings,” Burnham’s press secretary referred back to the GMCA statement without further elaboration.
The GMCA register that detailed the hospitality dinners was removed from its website, reportedly due to a policy to publish entries only from the current mayoral term. However, the website still contains entries dating back to 2022, despite the current term beginning in 2024. The GMCA has been asked to clarify this policy.
Earlier this month, Sir Richard Leese defended a decade-old deal between Manchester City Council and the club’s owners, Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG). The partnership involved leasing land to ADUG at “below comparable rates,” according to a University of Sheffield report. ADUG is linked to the United Arab Emirates royal family.
Manchester City has dominated English football’s top flight for years, but this controversy has intensified scrutiny of its ownership and financial dealings. The full consequences of the Premier League’s findings remain pending as the club pursues its appeal.
According to Joy Online.
