Andy Burnham, who served as mayor of Greater Manchester until June 2024, had two hospitality dinners with Manchester City football club’s chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak while in office, new evidence shows.
Earlier this week the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) released a statement listing Burnham’s meetings with the club, noting a formal meeting in October 2021 at the Global Investment Summit and an informal stand‑side encounter in 2019 at a Vincent Kompany testimonial. The statement, however, omitted any reference to the two dinners.
A BBC‑sourced GMCA register of declarations, now removed from the website, recorded a dinner with the club’s chairman for an Everton match at the Etihad Stadium in August 2017, valued at £300, and a second dinner at the Man City/Man United derby in April 2018, valued at about £699. The register also listed a £150 pair of tickets to an Ed Sheeran concert at the stadium in May 2018.
Burnham has faced mounting pressure to clarify his past dealings with Manchester City, especially after the club was found guilty of breaching Premier League financial regulations between 2009 and 2018. He has said he is willing to disclose all past meetings, stating that none were recent and that he only had one significant meeting in 2021.
Political critics, including Tory shadow sports minister Louie French and Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick, have accused Burnham of “concealing” his links to the club’s owners. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has demanded a full release of all meeting details.
Downing Street has defended the dinners as hospitality received at home games, arguing they were declared and not separate meetings with the chairman. The GMCA’s policy to publish only entries from the current mayoral term has been questioned, as the website still hosts entries dating back to 2022.
With Manchester City’s appeal pending and the club’s financial misconduct still under scrutiny, the revelations add fresh scrutiny to Burnham’s former role and his relationship with the club’s ownership.
