Spain’s football league chief Javier Tebas said he will file a complaint with UEFA for financial fair play breaches against Paris Saint-Germain over their pursuit of Brazilian superstar Neymar. PSG are rumoured to be weighing up a bid for the Barcelona forward at more than 200mn euros, enough to trigger the 25-year-old’s transfer release clause.
“La Liga will file this complaint because it’s a problem for La Liga’s competitiveness. Today it’s happened to Barca, tomorrow it could happen to Real Madrid, it’s happened to Atletico Madrid,” Tebas, the La Liga chairman, told Mundo Deportivo.
Should PSG bid, and then pay, the 222mn euros needed to prise Neymar from the Catalan capital, they would struggle to meet UEFA’s financial fair play conditions that limit a team to losses of no more than 30mn euros over a three-year cycle. And that is despite a mega-money sponsorship deal with the Qatar tourism board. According to Tebas, “no-one believes” the commercial revenue figures presented by PSG to justify their spending. “PSG cannot have figures in which PSG’s commercial rights exceed those of Real Madrid and Barcelona,” said Tebas.
“No-one believes that. We’ve carried out economic studies and it’s impossible. It means that PSG violates UEFA’s financial fair play rules and the European Union’s norms of economic competition, and we’re going to file a complaint.”
In 2014, PSG were fined 60mn euros and handed transfer spending restrictions by UEFA for breaching financial fair play rules. UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) has also stated that PSG’s 200mn euros a year image rights contract with the Qatari tourist board is inflated and double its “true value”. PSG are owned by Oryx Qatar Sports Investments.
Neymar has a 222mn euro release clause. (AFP)
