English FA investigate rule-breaking £200K payment by Man City to Sancho’s agent

February 28 – The English Football Association is investigating claims that Manchester City made a banned payment of £200,000 to Jadon Sancho’s agent when the England winger – now an emerging superstar in Germany – was just 14 years old.

The allegations were made in documents published by Der Spiegel and centre on when Sancho joined their academy from Watford in 2015.

The claims, based on information from the Football Leaks website, state City paid the agent a fee even though Sancho was still a minor.

Both FA and FIFA rules state that young players cannot be represented by an agent until the year they turn 16 and a Football Association spokesperson told Sky: “We can confirm that we will be investigating the allegations.”

Sancho never made a first-team appearance for City before moving to Dortmund for £8 million in August 2017 and the German club described him as “one of the most exciting players in Europe” when they announced he had signed a new long-term contract in October.

The English champions, who have frequently been in the news for allegedly breaching financial fair play rules, gave exactly the same response they have given with regard to Der Spiegel’s previous reports into their activities.

“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.”

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