Burnham met Manchester City's chairman at a 2021 summit, combined authority says
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has published details of Andy Burnham's contacts with the club and its Abu Dhabi owners during his time as mayor. The disclosure follows criticism of his response to the Premier League ruling against the club.
Formal meeting and informal contacts
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) published details on Monday, 12 October 2026, of Andy Burnham's dealings with Manchester City while he was Greater Manchester mayor from May 2017 to June 2026. The statement confirmed a formal meeting with club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government's Global Investment Summit, arranged by the Department for International Trade, and it gave the wording:
In October 2021 Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government's Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
According to the GMCA, Burnham was a guest of the club at home matches on a small number of occasions. At Vincent Kompany's testimonial match in September 2019 he met the chairman informally in the stands, and the visits were declared in the usual way. Manchester City staff also supported mayoral business visits to China and Japan. Other Greater Manchester clubs joined delegations too, including Manchester United on trips to Austin and Dublin and Lancashire Cricket Club on a visit to India.
- Burnham meets chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak informally in the stands at Vincent Kompany's testimonial match
- Formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government's Global Investment Summit
- Burnham's term as Greater Manchester mayor ends
- Burnham says he would be 'really concerned' if City's owners sold the club
- GMCA publishes details of Burnham's contacts with the club
Remarks after the verdict
The disclosure came after criticism of Burnham's response to the Premier League ruling that found the club guilty of breaching its financial rules between 2009 and 2018. The ruling covered 115 charges, including a disguised funding scheme that the BBC reported saw the owners top up sponsorship and commercial deals with more than £800m of their own funds. The club denies any wrongdoing and has appealed the verdict. In September 2026 Burnham told the BBC he would be 'really concerned' if the owners sold the club, describing them as 'a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester'. His spokesperson later said the club should face the 'appropriate consequences' if wrongdoing was established. Downing Street then moved to clarify the position, insisting that no one was 'above the rules'.
Opposition and Burnham's response
Louie French, the shadow sports minister, said the disclosure was 'far from the full transparency that football fans deserve' and that the statement contained 'precious little information about these meetings, what was discussed and what may have been agreed'.
Burnham cannot hide behind the GMCA - he must take responsibility for this himself.
The Liberal Democrats read Burnham's remarks as defending the club's conduct and demanded details of his dealings with club officials. Burnham told MPs that 'all of my dealings' with the owners would be published, and the GMCA disclosure is the first release of those details. The statement does not say what was discussed at the 2021 meeting or whether any agreement was reached.
Council dealings with the owners
Separately, Manchester City Council has made just under £3m from a 2014 deal to share in 'super-profits' from developments built on its land by Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) in Ancoats and New Islington. Prof Adam Leaver, co-author of a 2022 University of Sheffield report on the council's relationship with ADUG, said commercial secrecy around the arrangements made it hard to know whether the council got the best value it could. The council said it expected another payment soon and that the regeneration had been worth £1.25bn to the city. ADUG bought the club in 2008 for £200m. It is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a senior member of the Abu Dhabi ruling family and a current vice president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.
