PSG are one of numerous European sides set to receive fines from UEFA for breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP).
Last week, reports emerged that Europe’s governing body for football was preparing sanctions against several teams. They have now followed through on these plans, dishing out fines to some of the clubs that were on the sanctions list.
The teams received punishments for breaching the allowed losses over the three-year FFP cycle. Currently, European clubs can spend only €5 million more than their revenue – meaning that they can only operate at a slightly negative net spend.
However, teams can go over the €5 million limit by an extra €30 million, provided the owner can cover it. UEFA also allow sides to spend extra, provided that it is on “non-football related” areas. This includes stadium and facility costs, as well as youth and women’s football development.
Following their investigations, UEFA have handed out sanctions to nine of Europe’s elite.
PSG among teams receiving FFP fines
According to The Mirror, PSG leads the teams in getting a fine for breaking FFP. Also joining them are fellow Ligue 1 sides Monaco and Marseille, as well as Besiktas and, according to some sources, Anderlecht.
Unfortunately, Marseille have been punished before, earning a €3 million fine in 2020.
Finally, Serie A has four clubs in the bad books. Both AC Milan and Inter Milan, Juventus, and Roma are all bracing themselves for fines.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have managed to avoid sanctions from UEFA thus far, meaning no La Liga sides have breached FFP.
Additionally, no Premier League teams make the 10 – but a number are on the governing body’s “watchlist”. These include Chelsea, West Ham, Manchester City, and Leicester, per Daily Mail.
As they have received a fine, the teams are low on the severity scale when it comes to punishments. They could face more severe sanctions if they do not balance their books. These include point deductions, transfer bans, missing out on prize money, and bans from European competition.
So, even though they are one of the wealthiest clubs in the world, how did PSG fall victim to the FFP rules?
Money pains
In the case of PSG, their handing out of massive contracts to star players certainly caught UEFA’s attention. As FFP is watched over three-year cycles, the Parisians have spent a lot of money in that time frame.
Firstly, they handed out two huge deals to Neymar and Lionel Messi in 2021. When Messi moved from Barcelona, he signed a contract worth a reported £25 million per year. To add to this, Neymar’s new deal, signed in 2021 as well, meant PSG would pay him £24 million a year.
Then, this summer, the Ligue 1 champs gave Kylian Mbappe an enormous deal worth £43 million a year, per The Guardian. This, alongside a number of new signings in the past few seasons, put them at risk of punishment – although the 2022 window does not factor into this FFP cycle.
Elsewhere, teams such as the Serie A teams likely overspent on players compared to their income. For example, in 2021, Juventus paid over £40 million more on incoming players than they received for outgoing ones.
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