We obeyed rules... and City nicked our stars
WENGER WEIGHS INTO FFP ROW
ARSENE WENGER believes big-spending Manchester City cost him trophies by plundering players from the Emirates.
The former Arsenal boss accused the Blues of “financial doping” as Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna all moved to the Etihad as City’s owners splashed the cash to transform the club.
Wenger constantly called for a UEFA clampdown and has little sympathy for the champions after they were hit with a two-year European ban and fined £25m for failing to meet Financial Fair Play regulations.
Wenger, speaking at the 20th Laureus Sports Awards in Berlin, said: “City bought all of my players!
“My belief is that sport is about trying to win by respecting the rules.
“We celebrate the best in every sport – but only if we know the winners respect the rules.
“If there is no respect, then it’s not real sport.
“The table is always linked to the amount of money clubs spend on players.
“Historically it was about the
turnover of clubs – and more or less it used to be pretty much the same.
“But the financial strength of the top clubs has become stronger than it was 20 or 30 years ago.”
City have vowed to fight the punishment and will lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport to have it overturned.
The Blues have won four titles, two FA Cups and four League Cups since 2011 and have qualified for the Champions League for each of the last nine seasons.
Wenger refused to be drawn on whether City should be stripped of any trophies by the Premier League and accepts the argument that FFP, in its current guise, is far from perfect.
But the Frenchman insisted the club must be punished if they have flouted the regulations.
He added: “I was always in favour of financial control on clubs and income that is not natural.
“I am also convinced that the rules still have to evolve into something better, but at the moment they are what they are.
“If it is proven that this has been done on purpose, then City cannot go unpunished. I don’t know the case well enough to say what kind of punishment has to be made.
“I don’t know if it is planned to take City’s title away because I don’t know the rules well enough.
“But the difference between the big clubs and the smaller clubs has become bigger and we can now predict with accuracy what is going to happen in every league.”
■ The 20th anniversary Laureus Awards celebrated Laureus Founding Patron Nelson Mandela’s words: “Sport has the power to change the world; to unite people in a way that little else does.”