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British Prime Minister Andy Burnham attended two hospitality dinners with Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak in 2017 and 2018 that were not specifically included in a recent official account of his contacts with the club, according to British media reports.
The dinners took place while Burnham served as mayor of Greater Manchester and had previously been declared in official hospitality records that are no longer available on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority's (GMCA) website, The Sun reported.
One dinner took place during Manchester City's home match against Everton in August 2017, when Burnham joined Mubarak and then-Manchester City Council leader Richard Leese. The second was held during a Manchester derby against Manchester United in April 2018, with hospitality valued at approximately £699 ($930).
The GMCA, the regional authority responsible for coordinating government across Greater Manchester, issued a statement Monday outlining Burnham's previous contacts with Manchester City officials.
The statement identified a formal meeting with Mubarak at a U.K. government investment summit in October 2021 and an informal encounter during former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany's testimonial match in 2019.
Although the authority acknowledged that Burnham had attended several Manchester City home matches as a guest and said the hospitality had been properly declared, it did not specifically identify the two earlier dinners.
Burnham had previously maintained that he held only one "significant meeting" with Manchester City officials, referring to the 2021 encounter.
The disclosures have renewed questions about Burnham's relationship with the club as Manchester City faces potential sanctions for breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations.
Addressing lawmakers during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Burnham denied that Manchester City officials had raised the club's financial case with him during his time as mayor.
"They did not raise those issues with me," Burnham said, adding that he was willing for "everything to be set out in full" regarding his dealings with the club.
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Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called for greater transparency over Burnham's contacts with Manchester City.
The controversy follows Burnham's comments last month that he would be "really concerned" if the club's Abu Dhabi owners decided to sell Manchester City.
In September, an independent Premier League commission found Manchester City guilty of breaching financial regulations between 2009 and 2018, including through sponsorship agreements it described as "sham" arrangements designed to conceal funding from the club's ownership.
Manchester City has denied wrongdoing and appealed the findings, while potential sanctions have yet to be announced.
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