Manchester City sponsorship is covered by the Abu Dhabi government

It was the Abu Dhabi government and not Etihad Airlines that "covered" Manchester City's sponsorship during the 2010 season, a US aviation industry document published in 2015 revealed. They received such evidence in the form of a consultants' report written for the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

On Friday, CFCB, the fair play compliance body of UEFA, banned Manchester City from European competitions for the next two seasons. They also fined the English side €30 million and stated that the club was not truthful in its reports between 2012 and 2016 regarding Etihad's funding of City's annual £67.5 million sponsorship.

The CFCB investigation followed after a German magazine published some of the internal club emails in November 2018. Those leaked emails suggested that Etihad was not actually funding the bulk of the club's sponsorship. It also mentioned that a majority of the money was provided by City's owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who also happens to be the brother of the Crown Prince.

According to the Guardian, one of those emails consisted of two invoices sent by City's then-chief financial officer, Jorge Chumillas. Those invoices for the £67.5 million 2015‑16 sponsorship, stated that £8 million should be funded directly by Etihad and the remaining £59.5 million would be provided by ADUG, which is Sheikh Mansour's company.

City authorities have furiously rejected such a conclusion and are yet to admit that Etihad did not wholly fund the sponsorship. The club has claimed that CFCB's report was biased, flawed, and the outcome had been prejudged. City also claimed that the CFCB investigators have ignored "irrefutable evidence."

In 2015, the US aviation industry document was produced by the "Partnership for Open and Fair Skies," which is an alliance between the aviation staff unions of the three major US airlines. They argued to the US departments of commerce and transportation, and stated that the Abu Dhabi government was offering massive subsidies to Etihad. This, according to them, distorts fair competition.

Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is considered to be the most powerful member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, is the chairman of the Executive Council of the Abu Dhabi governing body. Khaldoon Al Mubarak was appointed City's chairman after Mansour took over in 2008. Mubarak is a member of the Executive Council and also chairs the Executive Affairs Authority.