Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness Says He Knows How Man City Fund Transfers

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has suggested he knows how Manchester City's spending in the transfer market is funded.

City boss Pep Guardiola joined the Sky Blues from Bayern in 2016, and he has since made a number of expensive signings.

According to AS, Hoeness said at a financial conference in Munich: 

"My friend Pep told me what happens when he wants to sign a player that costs €100 million.

"He puts some videos together of the player and goes to see the Sheikh. Once he is there, there is an opulent feast put on during which he teaches the videos to him and the money is transferred."

"The next day, the Sheikh rises the price of oil a little bit and recovers the money."

City owner Sheikh Mansour, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, has invested more than £1.3 billion into the club since he bought it in 2008, per the Guardian's David Conn.

In November, German magazine Der Spiegel published allegations—based on documents acquired via Football Leaks—that FIFA president Gianni Infantino "cut secret deals" with City and Paris Saint-Germain during his time as UEFA general secretary, in order for them to avoid facing significant sanctions for breaching financial fair play regulations.

In a statement (h/t the Mirror's Alex Richards), City responded: "We will not be providing any comment on out of context materials purported to have been hacked or stolen from City Football Group and Manchester City personnel and associated people. The attempt to damage the club's reputation is organised and clear."

Earlier in March, fresh allegations from Der Spiegel said City "devised a special construct to systematically circumvent [financial fair play] rules" by outsourcing costs and receiving inflated sponsorship deals from Abu Dhabi.

Sporting Intelligence's Nick Harris relayed further information from the allegations:

City now find themselves under investigation from all quarters, per James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo:

Although much credit must go to Guardiola for his superb coaching of the team, the Sky Blues' spending over the years has allowed them to assemble a squad of unrivalled quality and depth in the Premier League.

The gulf in class was plain to see last season, as City cantered to the league title by 19 points. In the process, they set the record for most points (100), wins (32) and goals (106) in a Premier League campaign.

They added yet more depth to their squad last summer, signing Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City for £60 million.

In this campaign, they're two points behind leaders Liverpool in the league with a game in hand and remain in the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League, having already won the Carabao Cup.