Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City are facing fines of 60 million euros (US$83.3 million) and limits on their Champions League squads next season for breaching UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, a source close to the process told reporters on Tuesday.
European soccer’s governing body last week said that nine unnamed clubs face punishment under new rules designed to force teams to limit financial losses and make the sport more economically stable. The sanctions could be confirmed as early as the end of this week.
French sports daily L’Equipe reported that Qatari-owned PSG would be fined and have their Champions League squad capped at 21 players instead of 25 next season under a proposed settlement. The club’s wage bill would also be capped and the fine spread out over three years, the paper said.
A similar settlement is believed to have been offered to City, but the English club is disputing the terms.
“PSG are close to agreement, but it’s fair to say that City are haggling a lot harder,” the source said.
A club that fails to settle with UEFA will have their case referred to an adjudicatory panel that could impose tougher sanctions.
UEFA has the power to ban teams from European competition if their losses exceed its limits, but the body is expected to shy away from imposing that ultimate punishment.
UEFA and the Parisian club declined to comment on the reports, while Man City could not immediately be reached for comment.
If the sanctions are not deemed tough enough, rival clubs are likely to gripe that UEFA has failed the first serious test of its new Financial Fair Play regime, while on the other hand, many are also questioning the logic of fining mega-rich clubs for spending too much money.
Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger last week urged UEFA to ensure that clubs got appropriate sanctions.
“There are rules to apply for the financial fair play. If you don’t respect them, you have to apply the rules,” the Frenchman said.
Having spent heavily to compete with the best teams in Europe in recent seasons, Manchester City and PSG appear most at risk of falling foul of the process.
City have been bankrolled by cash from Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour, while PSG have been lavishly funded by their Qatari owners and now dominate French soccer.
The headline numbers limit club losses to 45 million euros over the past two seasons, but there are various exemptions for spending on youth development, stadium infrastructure and older contracts.
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