Burnham had two hospitality dinners with Man City chairman, deleted records show

The prime minister has been under growing pressure since the club was found guilty of Premier League rule breaches. Man City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak (left) chats to Andy Burnham in 2019 at the Etihad Stadium, when he was mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham had two hospitality dinners with Manchester City football club's chairman while mayor of Greater Manchester, it has emerged. The PM dined with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at matches in 2017 and 2018 – but this was not detailed in a statement on Monday by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) about his meetings with the club. Burnham has been under pressure to clarify his previous discussions with Man City since the club was found guilty of having "systematically" broken Premier League rules, which it will appeal.

The PM, who was mayor until June, sparked widespread controversy when he said last month he would be "really concerned" if the club's owners now sold up. On Monday, the GMCA released a statement about Burnham's meetings with Man City in his role as mayor for the region for almost a decade. The statement said he had a formal meeting with Al Mubarak in October 2021 at the UK Government's Global Investment Summit, arranged by the Department for International Trade; and that he met the club chairman "informally in the