Burnham Under Scrutiny Over Manchester City Links Amid Financial Allegations

Robert Jenrick of Reform UK claims Burnham appears to have concealed extensive links to Manchester City’s owners.

A previous GMCA register of declarations, since deleted from the website, detailed two dinners with the club chairman, valued at £300 and approximately £699 respectively.

This deleted register of interests reportedly showed Burnham joined Khaldoon Al Mubarak twice in a luxury box at City's Etihad Stadium; it also indicated he accepted tickets to an Ed Sheeran concert.

These freebies reportedly appeared on a register of interests signed in December 2020, which was later removed from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) website.

Andy Burnham previously claimed to have had just one formal meeting with City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.

However, the GMCA confirmed a formal meeting between Andy Burnham and Khaldoon Al Mubarak at an investment summit in October 2021.

A GMCA spokesman stated, "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."

Representatives from Greater Manchester sporting clubs, including Manchester City, routinely joined mayoral international business delegations.

A GMCA spokesman added, "Also during his time as mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of mayoral international visits."

This included Manchester United representatives travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City staff supporting visits to China and Japan.

Andy Burnham stated, "They did not raise those issues with me."

He further added, "It is why I asked the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), in response to a call from the Leader of the Opposition and others, to set out a full statement of my key dealings with the owners of Manchester City Football Club."

Burnham declared, "I’m very happy, Mr Speaker, for everything to be set out in full."

Louie French claims Burnham "cannot hide behind the GMCA – he must take responsibility for this himself."

The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) was created in September 2025 to promote the sustainability of English football.

David Kogan, head of the Independent Football Regulator, claims Manchester City's punishment verdict is expected early next year; the independent commission is set to hear the appeal within 12 weeks, likely by the middle or end of January.

Manchester City claims they possess a 'silver bullet' to win their appeal.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority stated that hospitality received was declared in the usual way; they also claim declarations are kept online for the duration of a term, a statement that stands in contrast to the reported deletion of a register of interests.