PSG to pay UEFA $10m for breaking finance rules

GENEVA (AP):

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) must pay 10 million euros (US$10 million) for breaking Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) financial rules, with seven other clubs also punished for overspending since 2018.

UEFA said its club finance investigators ordered prize money from European competitions totalling 26 million euros to be withheld from the eight clubs sanctioned under Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

A further 146 million euros in total punishments could be imposed if the clubs fail to meet financial targets in the next three to four years they have agreed to in settlement deals, UEFA said.

PSG will have the biggest amount deducted. A group of Italian clubs was next in line: Roma must forfeit prize money of five million euros; Inter Milan, four million euros; Juventus, 3.5 million euros; and AC Milan, two million euros.

French champions PSG declined to comment on the case, which covered the 2021-22 season when they added Lionel Messi to a superstar forward line that already featured Kylian Mbappé and Neymar.

AC Milan said in a statement, “We will continue with confidence on the virtuous path towards financial sustainability.” The Italian champions were bought this week by American investors RedBird Capital Partners in a 1.2-billion euros deal that included the New York Yankees as a minority partner.

IMPOSED DEDUCTIONS

The other deductions imposed by UEFA were 600,000 euros from Besiktas and 300,000 euros each from Marseille and Monaco.

The sanctions covering the four financial years from 2018 – including two seasons when club revenue was severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic – should be the last major round of cases under the FFP rules that UEFA announced in April will now be modified.

UEFA launched FFP a decade ago to monitor the revenue and spending of clubs that qualify to play in its club competitions to ensure they approach break-even on their football-related business. Clubs were allowed unlimited spending on stadium and youth development projects.

Qatar-backed PSG had to pay UEFA 20 million euros in 2014, when Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City had to pay the same amount, in the first round of FFP cases.

Man City are among 19 clubs named who met the break-even standard only on technicalities, UEFA said, such as concessions made for the pandemic seasons when many games were played without fans. Other clubs in this category are Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Sevilla and West Ham.