Manchester City appointed a new chief financial officer, Claire Catlin, just days before it emerged they had been found guilty in the Premier League’s biggest ever disciplinary case, City AM has learned.

Catlin joined the leadership of the club’s parent City Football Group from service station group Moto after being approved as an officer by the Independent Football Regulator on 17 September.

Eight days later it emerged that an independent commission had found Manchester City guilty of more than 100 charges of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules. 

Manchester City have denied wrongdoing and say they will appeal the findings, which followed a 42-day hearing and almost two years of deliberations. There is no suggestion that the timing of Catlin’s appointment was connected to the commission’s decision. Manchester City were approached for comment.

Catlin’s appointment completed a boardroom reshuffle at City Football Group which began when chief operating officer Roel de Vries departed in March to become CEO of theatre operator Stage Entertainment. 

Former City Football Group CFO Ingo Bank replaced De Vries as COO, leaving a vacancy at the top of the finance department that has now been filled by Catlin. 

De Vries is one of several key City Football Group figures to have departed in the last two years, following Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain and manager Pep Guardiola.

Dutchman De Vries arrived at City Football Group in 2020 from Nissan and was credited with driving commercial growth at CFG, which owns 10 clubs in five continents.

His departure came just months after Nissan ended an 11-year partnership with City Football Group which later saw the carmaker take back full ownership of Yokohama F Marinos.

‘Calm and capable’ Catlin joins Manchester City as CFO

The period to which Manchester City’s charges of hiding payments from their ultimate owners in Abu Dhabi totalling more than £900m relate spans from 2009 to 2018.

An independent commission found that Manchester City used “sham” contracts to disguise owner funding as sponsorship revenue and top up the pay of players and managers.

It leaves the club facing punishments that could range from points deductions and relegation to transfer bans and fines, if the findings are upheld.

The decision also calls into question Manchester City’s era of domestic dominance, which began more than a decade ago and garnered eight Premier League titles as well as a Champions League.

Only three of those Premier League titles came between 2009 and 2018, with five coming under Guardiola in the following six seasons.

Manchester City’s CFO between 2009 and 2012 was Graham Wallace. Jorge Chumillas succeeded him until reportedly leaving in 2016. Bank arrived at City Football Group in 2023.

The 46-year-old Catlin is a newcomer to football, having spent her career in the retail, automotive and hospitality sectors. Her most recent job was CFO at Moto Hospitality but her CV also includes roles at Argos and car dealership Inchcape.

She was praised for her cool-headed approach at Inchcape, where one colleague said: “Claire possesses the ability to make finance look easy, always remaining calm and capable of spinning many plates at one time.”