Why FFP does not work

Following the recent post on possible financial sanctions for the Irons from UEFA, let us have a look at how that is impacting teams in the Premier League.

UEFA have warned the likes of PSG and Manchester City that they will be unable to “cheat” the FFP rules (via The Guardian), but they are already engaging in questionable sponsorship practices designed to keep them in line when the new regulations are fully introduced in the spring of 2024.

Manchester City have a deal in place with Etihad airlines worth £400 million over ten years, and a further three of their sponsors (Etisalat, Aabar and Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority) are run by the United Arab Emirates Government, of which owner Sheikh Mansour is a minister and member of the ruling family.

Fined £65 million last September, but subsequently reduced to £10million.Paris Saint-Germain are paid an eye-watering €200 million per season by the Qatar Tourism Authority, who have very close links with the Qatar Investment Authority that owns the club.

In 2012, Chelsea started a sponsorship deal with Gazprom, a Russian gas and oil company. Need CandH remind you of the industry in which Roman Abramovich made his millions.

By effectively sponsoring themselves with inflated deals, several clubs are flouting the FFP rules by artificially inflating their turnover to allow for extra spending. Attempting to clamp down on these deals would be a legal minefield.

Bizarrely, FFP also invites concerning practices such as third-party ownership, where a player is actually owned (in part or full) by another company or wealthy individual. Remember the almighty furore which followed the Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano’s transfer to West Ham?

The problem is that there is next to nothing than can be done to stop a Middle Eastern investment group or whoever from owning a large proportion of players on a certain team, thus keeping their transfer fees off the books.

The whole point of the UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) Regulations was to act as a means of levelling the playing field in European football. The premise was simple (even to a Millwall supporter): operate a sustainable business model, or face UEFA sanctions.

It is blatantly obvious FFP does not work !