Spain’s La Liga files complaint against PSG & Man City
Bosses at Spain’s La Liga have confirmed they are stepping up a legal bid against Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, accusing the Middle Eastern-backed clubs of flouting Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
Both Man City and PSG have continued to pull off major coups this summer. In the English club’s case, that involved the capture of highly-coveted Norwegian forward Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund in a deal which is estimated to cost them more than £85 million ($102 million) when all the associated fees are taken into account.
For PSG, their biggest success has been persuading star forward Kylian Mbappe to reject the advances of Real Madrid and remain in Paris. The French World Cup winner, 23, has reportedly become the world’s highest-paid player under the terms of his new three-year deal which is said to be worth up to €250 million ($260 million).
But Mbappe’s deal in particular has infuriated La Liga president Javier Tebas after the Spanish top tier missed out on a major name heading its way.
In past years, Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona have largely been used to getting their own way when it comes to attracting football’s top talent, although the financial firepower of the Abu Dhabi-owned Man City and Qatari-backed PSG has significantly shaken up the transfer landscape over the last decade.
A letter from La Liga shared by Marca and posted online on Wednesday confirmed that the league was pursuing legal action against the two clubs.
“LaLiga this week filed a complaint with UEFA against PSG, which will join another against Manchester City in April, for understanding that these clubs are continuously breaching the current financial fair play regulations,” reads the letter.
“LaLiga considers that these practices alter the ecosystem and the sustainability of football, harm all European clubs and leagues, and only serve to artificially inflate the market, with money not generated in football itself.
“LaLiga understands that the irregular financing of these clubs is carried out, either through direct injections of money or through sponsorship and other contracts that do not correspond to market conditions or make economic sense.
“The complaints against Manchester City before UEFA were made in April and this last week the one corresponding to PSG has been presented, although it is not ruled out that in the coming days extensions of some of these complaints will be made with the contributions of new data.
“In addition, LaLiga has proceeded to hire law firms in France and Switzerland, including the French law firm of Lawyer Juan Branco, with the aim of taking administrative and judicial actions as soon as possible before the competent French bodies and before the European Union.
“In Switzerland, LaLiga is studying different representation options due to possible conflicts of interest of Nasser Al-Khelaïfi arising from his different roles in PSG, UEFA, ECA and BeIN Sports,” it added.
Both Man City and PSG have been slapped on the wrist in past years over their spending.
After accepting a fine and transfer restrictions in 2014 as part of FFP sanctions levied by UEFA, Man City were then handed a two-year ban from UEFA competition in February 2020 following claims made in the ‘Football Leaks’ scandal – although the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned that ruling just five months later.
PSG were punished by UEFA in 2014 over FFP breaches, being hit with a €60 million fine and having their Champions League squad reduced. The club also agreed to “significantly limit” transfer spending in the following seasons.
Both the French giants and Man City have consistently denied wrongdoing with their spending, although the pair have faced frequent questions over the fairness of clubs supposedly being backed by the wealth of entire states and used for geopolitical purposes.
Conversely, critics of La Liga have argued that the likes of Tebas and Real Madrid are bitter at facing tougher competition for the signature of football’s biggest stars, and no longer holding the relative financial clout they once did.
