FA investigating Sancho agent payment from Manchester City

The Football Association are investigating allegations that Manchester City made a payment of £200,000 to the agent of Jadon Sancho when the teenager joined the club from Watford.

German outlet Der Spiegel has published documents claiming that Sancho’s agent, Emeka Obasi, took the payment to help seal the transfer, which set City back £66,000 for the then 14-year-old winger.

They have published a number of leaked documents over recent times on City, one of which claim that the payment was hidden by claiming to hire Obasi as a club scout.

A brief City statement read: "The attempt to damage the club's reputation is organised and clear.

"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."

FA rules state that players under the age of 16 can’t be represented by an agent while clubs are not allowed to offer financial incentives to young players until they reach the age of 16, both of which have been broken if the allegations are true.

Der Spiegel has made a number of claims, such as stating that the club wrote a letter to Sancho’s father indicating the salary they would place him on if he were to join the club from Watford.

Obasi’s scouting mission was meant to send him to central and South America, but is reported that the payment was made solely for the purpose of ensuring Sancho would make the switch to City.

They also claim that one City lawyer was “alarmed” by the possibility of the letter being deemed as a financial incentive.

Sancho never made a first-team appearance for City before joining Borussia Dortmund for £8m in the summer of 2017, since going on to become a full England international thanks to his performances in Germany.

If the allegations are true, it could certainly leave City in a difficult spot heading into the future. The club are already under investigation for potentially breaking Financial Fair Play Rules, with UEFA's chief FFP investigator Yves Leterme saying "if what has been written about Manchester City is true…this can lead to the heaviest punishment - exclusion from UEFA competitions".

Chelsea were recently given a two-transfer window ban from signing any players to their first team for breaking rules regarding their signing of players to their academy, although they have since appealed the decision.

Elsewhere, Liverpool were fined £100,000 and given a two-year ban on signing players to their academy in 2017 when they were found guilty of offering financial incentives to a 12-year-old member of Stoke City’s academy.