La Liga stated on Wednesday that it has lodged complaints with UEFA over Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City “consistently violating existing financial fair play standards.” City’s UEFA protest was lodged in April, while PSG’s case was filed “this week,” according to La Liga.
The Spanish league has said that legal action against the two state-owned teams would continue. According to a statement from La Liga, the league has retained legal companies in France and Switzerland “to pursue administrative and judicial measures before the appropriate French agencies and the European Union as soon as feasible.”
In Switzerland, La Liga is “looking at several representation possibilities” to look into Nasser Al-“potential Khelaifi’s conflicts of Interest” since he is the chairman of PSG, the CEO of Qatar-owned BeIN Sports, the president of the European Club Association, and a member of UEFA’s executive council.
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Manchester City beat Borussia Dortmund to purchase Erling Haaland after paying the striker’s £51 million ($63 million) release clause. Still, the total cost of the transaction, including salary and agent fees, is expected to reach £250 million.
After rejecting Real Madrid and signing a new three-year deal with the Qatari-owned club, PSG will pay Kylian Mbappe an annual salary of between 40 and 50 million euros.
According to the annual report released earlier this month by French football’s financial body (DNCG), PSG lost 224.3 million euros ($240 million) in 2020/21, a rise of 80 percent over the previous year.
“La Liga believes that these methods hurt all European clubs and leagues and that they only serve to artificially inflate the market with money that is not created in football itself,” the Spanish league said.
“La Liga is aware that these clubs’ irregular funding is carried out in various ways, including direct cash injections, sponsorships, and other arrangements that do not conform to market circumstances or make economic sense.”
La Liga continues to battle state-owned teams
La Liga has been accused of sour grapes when Mbappe opted not to play in Spain, although the Spanish league and its president, Javier Tebas, have long campaigned against the state-owned teams’ financial clout.
“This isn’t the first time La Liga has brought these anti-competitive activities to the attention of UEFA,” the statement said.
“The Spanish organization has always been at the forefront of the fight to maintain economic power. He filed papers with UEFA in 2017 and 2018 accusing PSG and Manchester City of financial fair play violations, which resulted in UEFA fines against both state clubs,’ albeit these were ultimately overturned owing to bizarre rulings by the CAS.”
In 2013, La Liga implemented a system of tight spending limitations, which Tebas claims improved the Spanish league’s competitive balance and pushed teams to take a longer-term approach to investment.
In an interview with AFP last month, UEFA head Aleksander Ceferin dismissed La Liga’s criticism of Mbappe’s new contract.
“I disagree entirely. In football, there are already too many insults, and I believe each league should be concerned about its problem, “Ceferin said.
“I do not believe it is appropriate for one league to criticize the other. I’m aware that Real’s bid for Mbappe was identical to PSG’s “Ceferin was brought to the mix.
