A belligerent Javier Tebas, president of Spanish La Liga, said on Wednesday that the Qatari-owned French side, Paris Saint-Germain, are doing nothing but making a mockery of the Financial Fair Play system, or FPP that has been put in place to protect team’s’ integrity.
He warned that if was not happy with UEFA’s answer to La Liga’s distress over the lavish spending habits of both PSG and Manchester City, owned by Abu Dhabi, then he would have no problem taking the case to the European Union and Brussels.
Massive Spending by Paris Saint-Germain
PSG rocked the world of football when they levered Brazilian luminary Neymar from Barcelona for a world record-breaking €222 million, and then prised top-rated Frenchman Kylian Mbappe on loan with an option to buy for €180 million. UEFA’s response was to immediately launch an investigation to see whether or not FPP rules had been broken by the club.
Manchester City also indulged in heavy spending over the course of the last transfer window, lavishing around €221 million on various players, although they did offload a fair amount as well.
Tebas Said PSG are Laughing at the FFP
At the Soccerex Global Convention in Manchester, Tebas said, through a translator, that PSG were laughing at the system. He likened it to peeing in a bed or swimming pool, and stated that it would not be tolerated. He went on say that La Liga had fought hard for collective TV rights and that they were being destroyed, adding that these actions would damage the industry as a whole.
Tebas is Not Calling for a Ban
Tebas did say, however, that he was in no way pushing for City or PSG to be banned from European competitions, saying that measures just need to be put into place in order to stop the industry from being deformed. He has taken some hope from the fact that Roman Abramovich, the Russian owner of Chelsea Football Club, has calmed down in terms of spending, and insists that the Spanish League deals severely with Football Clubs that are contravening the rules and regulations that have been put in place in terms of financing and spending limitations.
