French champions Paris St. Germain and English champions Manchester City have been accused of breaking Financial Fair Play regulations by LaLiga. A statement from the organization stated it will pursue “additional legal action” to the European Union, France, and Swiss court systems since it understood “these clubs are consistently violating the present norms” of financial fair play.
The complaint against Manchester City was filed with UEFA in April, according to LaLiga, before the charge against Paris Saint-Germain was filed last week. As a result of “new facts,” the Spanish league is considering broadening its case against Manchester City.
According to reports, the English champions have acquired Norwegian striker Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund on a deal for over $313 million, which includes his salary as well as agency and other expenses. After Paris Saint-Kylian Germain’s Mbappe rejected a transfer to Real Madrid at the last minute and signed a new deal with the French club, La Liga president Javier Tebas stated last month that the organization will take legal action against the French club.
It was an angry reaction from LaLiga when PSG offered Mbappe a contract extension that “undermines the economic stability” of European football, according to LaLiga.
LaLiga said at the time: “It is scandalous that a club like PSG, which last season reported losses of more than 220 million euros ($232.32 million), after accumulating losses of more than 700 million euros in prior seasons… with a squad costing around 650 million euros for this season, can close such an agreement”.
For an estimated 50 million euros a year until 2025, France star Kylian Mbappe agreed to extend his contract with the French league winners after lengthy discussions with Real Madrid.
LaLiga has already filed charges against “state-owned clubs” PSG and Manchester City, and this is not the first time. Qatar Sports Investments owns PSG, while Abu Dhabi Sports Investments owns City.
UEFA imposed fines on both teams in 2017 and 2018 after the organization submitted accusations alleging they had violated the organization’s financial fair play guidelines. Although City and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which found in favor of the two teams, the Spanish league dubbed this ruling “odd.”
To further investigate “potential conflicts of interest” arising from Nasser Al-dual Khelaifi’s duties as president of PSG and of UEFA, the European Club Association (ECA), and BeIN Sports, LaLiga said it was “studying alternative legal possibilities in Switzerland.
