Liga chief steps up pressure on PSG
THE president of Spain’s La Liga, Javier Tebas, has stepped up his criticism of Paris SaintGermain as he pushed Uefa to kick teams out of the Champions League for breaching their Financial Fair Play rules.
Uefa opened an investigation into the Qatari-owned club’s spending in September 2017 under pressure from some of Europe’s footballing elite after they signed Neymar from Barcelona for a world record € 222 million ($264 million).
They then completed a deal to sign Kylian Mbappe from Monaco for € 180 million just a few weeks later, and Tebas has been especially vocal in his criticism of PSG’s finances, while also targeting Abu Dhabiowned Manchester City.
“Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules say that when you cheat with your budgets, you have to be thrown out of the competition,” Tebas said Tuesday during an interview in Paris with several media, including AFP.
PSG have never been barred from playing in the Champions League, although in late September Uefa said it had referred the accusations against the French giants to its financial unit “for further investigation”.
Uefa rules state clubs cannot spend more than they earn in any given season and deficits must fall within a € 30 million limit over three seasons.
PSG’s case, though, is complicated by lucrative sponsorship deals with the Qatar National Bank and the Gulf state’s tourism authority.
Tebas claims his faith in Uefa and FFP is wavering.
“I am sceptical. I have to have confidence just now. When this whole process ends, ask me again,” said the 56-year-old.
PSG ‘the most blatant’
Tebas has ignored the pleas of PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi to stop his public criticism of the French champs and claims he is not simply trying to protect the interests of Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Both clubs, along with other traditional European giants, have been threatened by the emergence of PSG and City with their mega-rich Gulf owners.
“I want football to be economically balanced, so that there are no devious methods to becoming big, because this places football’s economic structure in danger,” he said.
“In this case I am defending the interests of professional football in Europe.
“Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules are there to be obeyed. We also denounced Manchester City and we are studying other clubs in Europe, not just PSG. The thing is that PSG have been the most blatant.”