La Liga have reported Manchester City and PSG to UEFA for practices that breach the Financial Fair Play rules. Both sides have been able to spend large sums believed not to have come from football.
The kind of money involved in football today is scary. There are massive investments in player acquisitions, but the state-owned clubs have muddied the pool. With enormous resources to play with, these clubs have managed to evade the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules of UEFA. There have been alleged reports of underhand tactics by these clubs, and it has angered many clubs.
Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea seem ahead of the curve, and some of these clubs feel the time has come to rein them in.
Manchester City and PSG are the leading culprits, with heavy suggestions of getting around FFP. There is hardly any player beyond their reach as they offer mouthwatering deals that would turn the head of any player or club.
With UEFA seemingly toothless in enforcing their rules, several parties have taken up the gauntlet in enforcing its laws.
Taking shots at the state-owned clubs
Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have come into the firing line as accusations have come against them of not adhering to the rules. There seem to be rules for City and PSG and another for the other clubs. It has angered La Liga chief Javier Tebas.
Javier Tebas has gone gung-ho again and has trained his sights against what he labels ‘State-controlled’ clubs. The La Liga chief is not barring any holds as Manchester City and PSG get caught in his crosshairs. Following the recent transfer operations by both clubs, La Liga has reported Manchester City and PSG to UEFA with accusations of breaching Financial Fair Play rules.
Tebas has his guns directly on the Premier League. He claims that spending rules do not exist, and everything is out of control. The attack on the Premier League comes after La Liga reported City for breaching FFP rules in April, while the complaint against PSG came last week.
The complaint against PSG came after Tebas claimed he would pursue legal action, having seen Mbappe snub Real Madrid to stay put in France
Playing the ostrich?
Real Madrid missed out on Kylian Mbappe after the French forward signed a three-year deal with PSG worth £200 million. Manchester City also snapped up Erling Haaland for £51 million.
According to a statement by La Liga, irregular financing of these clubs is being carried out either through money injections funnelled directly to the club or through sponsorship deals and contracts that are not in tune with current market realities, and neither makes economic sense.
La Liga is saying that both PSG and City are enmeshed in financial doping that is changing the landscape and its sustainability. In plain terms, they are spending money not generated from football.
The Premier League has also taken potshots at La Liga about their financial systems, with Barcelona able to spend £118 million on Ousmane Dembele and £120 million on Phillipe Coutinho. The deals that saw Dembele and Coutinho join Barcelona are part of what has the Catalan club in a financial mess.
Tebas has, however, defended the financial controls in La Liga, which has been able to penalize Barcelona. It created a more balanced financial ecosystem. He also explained that Barcelona and Real Madrid did not cheat the tax man by receiving tax breaks.
