Revealed Fifa chief backed City in FFP sanctions battle
Leaks claim ex-uefa chief intervened to foil ban Club also said to be keen on new European league
Fifa president Gianni Infantino secretly negotiated with Manchester City and Paris St-germain as the two clubs escaped financial fair play sanctions relating to their billionaire Middle East owners, an investigation into leaked documents claimed last night.
Infantino, 48, then general secretary at Uefa, was said to have been in contact with City and PSG as the clubs avoided a potential ban for receiving sponsorship deals “far above” those recommended by independent experts, according to Reuters news agency and German magazine Der Spiegel.
The “Football Leaks” documents, which include emails, contracts and presentations relating to the clubs, claim Infantino was involved in helping the clubs achieve “favourable” settlements with Uefa but that City had threatened to destroy the governing body with legal action. The leaks also claim that City, along with Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, were involved with clubs on the Continent in plans to set up a European Super League within three years.
City said the documents were “hacked or stolen” and “out of context”, adding: “The attempt to damage the club’s reputation is organised and clear.” Uefa said: “We cannot comment on specific cases due to confidentiality obligations which Uefa must respect.”
Under Uefa’s financial fair play rules, clubs must be transparent about revenues and broadly balance them against expenditure. However, according to the report, Uefa regulators have accepted since 2014 that PSG and City could value sponsorship deals at levels above those recommended by independent experts.
Since 2014, Uefa regulators have allowed City to book three times more income from some Abu Dhabi sponsors than experts deemed they were worth – totalling about an extra £20million a year, according to the files. In the case of PSG, it is reportedly hundreds of millions of euros.
There is no suggestion in the reports as to why Infantino helped the clubs in their negotiations, but allegations surrounding PSG’S Qatar links could be particularly damaging for the Fifa president as the country is preparing to host the next World Cup. Infantino is reported to have frequently “interacted” with the clubs in negotiations over their compliance with financial rules. In an April 2014 email to colleagues, a City official said he and Infantino had agreed to instruct City and Uefa lawyers “to negotiate a settlement that is more than a warning and can be seen as effective/dissuasive but does not affect dramatically MCFC business.”
An internal email sent by City lawyer Simon Cliff recalled an exchange between City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Infantino. “Khaldoon said he would rather spend 30 million on the 50 best lawyers in the world to sue them for the next 10 years,” Cliff wrote, adding that this was a chance “to avoid the destruction of their rules and organisation.”
The suggested breakaway European Super League is said to involve 16 clubs. However, one of the alleged clubs, Bayern Munich, said last night they had no plans to join a new league.
City are considering a £40million move for Tanguy Ndombele, the Lyon and France midfielder, in the January. Pep Guardiola wants a midfielder to provide competition for Fernandinho in the short term and to be the Brazilian’s long-term replacement. Guardiola has lost Kevin De Bruyne to another knee ligament injury for up to six weeks.
‘Khaldoon said he would rather spend £30m on the 50 best lawyers in the world to sue Uefa for the next 10 years’