Images of Manchester City players are being used in promotional material for a £3 billion residential development in Abu Dhabi, with the campaign running alongside the club's ongoing Premier League financial rules proceedings. Erling Haaland features in a promotional video for the "Manchester City Yas Residence" development and has taken ownership of a property within the waterfront scheme. Advertising materials for the club also draw on the presence of senior executives.

The Premier League disciplinary panel ruled that the club had engaged in transfers it described as fraudulent arrangements. Football writer John-Paul O'Neill described the club's conduct as open and unapologetic, adding that it pointed to a broader attitude of indifference toward the ongoing inquiry.

Mickey Ambrose, who played for Chelsea and Charlton and now campaigns on football governance issues, described the investment in Manchester City as a vehicle for promoting the UAE rather than a sporting endeavour, and questioned the timing of the club's property marketing in Abu Dhabi in light of the recent guilty verdicts. Ambrose also noted that evidence keeps accumulating that those who bend the rules can walk away with real gains.

Haaland, who scored in Sunday's 3-0 victory against Liverpool, has purchased a five-bedroom villa on the Ohana-developed complex, with the property valued at a minimum of £1.9 million. A video featuring him reached an audience of more than 4,000 attendees — brokers, government officials, and other invited guests — gathered at a launch event held at the Etihad Stadium in Abu Dhabi the previous Thursday. Haaland and Pep Guardiola, who previously managed the club, were both present at that event.

In a posted video, Haaland stated that he was delighted to be joining the Ohana Manchester City project, adding that the two parties would be neighbours in Abu Dhabi. Both Haaland and his father each acquired a home around the same time. A note in the programme acknowledged that his father may have been present among those attending.

Alf-Inge Haaland, who turned 53 and built his own reputation at City before his son, appeared on stage at the event. Owning property in the United Arab Emirates entitles both him and his son to a ten-year residency visa under the country's investment-based rules.

Among the City squad members whose likenesses appear in the club's marketing imagery are Phil Foden, Nico O'Reilly, and Mateo Kovacic, alongside Omar Marmoush — a forward whose transfer to Spurs has since been completed.

Guardiola is named in the announcement as the appointed brand ambassador for the project. Manchester City had posted details of the arrangement on their official website the previous September. Guardiola told the company it represented a community unlike any other, while Husein Salem — who heads the firm — noted that the football manager's involvement brought an extra dimension to what the project was trying to achieve.

Stepping onto the stage at the event, Guardiola described the venue as a place that felt like a second home to him, and during the question-and-answer portion he noted that those working in professional sport recognise performance as something shaped by factors that go beyond training alone. He added that healing, balance, and individual wellbeing each stand on their own terms.

The timing of the disclosure places the club in a context in which an independent inquiry determined its reported income had been overstated by nearly £900 million across a nine-year window ending in 2018, with sponsorship arrangements tied to Abu Dhabi judged to have been structured artificially. The club has lodged an appeal against the ruling, pointing to what it describes as conclusive evidence in its favour. A disciplinary panel operating independently of the club — convened under Premier League authority — determined that the organisation had violated financial regulations across a nine-year stretch running from 2009 through to 2018, with the panel's findings describing the club as having structured its contractual arrangements around agreements that investigators characterised as lacking genuine substance.

The verdicts were communicated to City in July. Seven senior players joined the squad during the summer transfer period, with the combined outlay on those recruits exceeding £450 million.

A controlling stake in the club rests with Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, held through his Abu Dhabi United Group vehicle. Spanning 1.67 million square metres on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, the development will house a Manchester City Training Academy, a dedicated City Lounge, and club branding throughout the site. The development, a collaboration between Manchester City Yas Residences and Ohana, incorporates fitness and wellbeing facilities intended to encourage physical activity, rest, and social interaction among those living there.

Among its planned amenities, a wellness facility equipped for cryotherapy, oxygen therapy, and hydrotherapy treatments is set to be included. Elevated football pitches on the roof and dedicated rooms for watching matches are among the planned amenities. Planned amenities stretch from waterfront dining and a canal-side walkway to dedicated lanes for cyclists and joggers, alongside courts for tennis and basketball, with residents also gaining direct access to a private beach. Planned for the opening phase, which is due to wrap up in 2029, are a karting arena, bike arena, parkour park, climbing walls, and skate park. Across a portfolio of more than 2,000 homes, asking prices stretch from £770,000 at the lower end to upwards of £7.25 million.

Fireworks, a troupe of dancers, freestyle footballers dressed in City colours, and the club mascots Moonchester and Moonbeam all featured as part of the event's opening programme.

Scrutiny over the extent of Andy Burnham's connections to Manchester City has intensified following a statement released by his former mayoral office, with certain voices pressing for a more detailed account of those links. Details of Burnham's contact with the club's ownership came to light after calls for greater transparency, with his account including one particular meeting held with the club's chairman during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority noted in a statement that, in his role as Mayor, he attended a handful of home matches as a guest of Manchester City FC, one of which was Vincent Kompany's testimonial fixture in September 2019, where he encountered the Chairman informally among the crowd. Shadow Sports Minister Louie French called on the Prime Minister to be transparent about the nature of his ties to City Football Group, so that the public could draw their own conclusions.