Al Khelaïfi tried to soften UEFA’s Financial Fair Play

The new Financial Fair Play that UEFA plans to approve on April 7 continues to be talked about. Yesterday, Al Khelaïfi, president of PSG and current maximum representative of the ECA, was exultant in the meeting with the rest of the European clubs before the new regulations. LaLiga sources assure AS that Said joy of the president is not real, rather it is a forced exaltation before the rest of the clubs. PSG, as they point out, will be negatively affected by the new measures.

The European Club Association met this week and Al Khelaïfi spoke of UEFA’s new Financial Fair Play rule: “These new rules are designed to ensure costs are better controlled, while also encouraging investment that will ensure the long-term sustainable future of our game.”. Although at various times he was exultant at the news, they assure AS that this position is not the real one and that It has been in recent days trying to modify the rules at the negotiating tables to soften control.

LaLiga has explained in a circular to the First and Second Division clubs the importance of this economic control, which they consider will put an end to the state-clubs: “Solvency is reinforced through a greater demand in the fulfillment of overdue debts; of the market value, expanding the obligation to value all market operations; stability through the Football Earnings Rule, which measures the balance in the results, complementing with capital contributions in a limited and reasonable way; and reinforcing the cost control of the sports squad, based on the new Squad Cost Ratio concept, which limits the cost of staff to 70% of income”.

All these concepts that LaLiga points out to its clubs are the ones that will be reinforced by the financial reform and that will put the PSG sheikhs in check. As they assure AS, Al Khelaïfi was forced to give this exultant position at the ECA congress, since the rest of the clubs did support the new measures, as did the European leagues.

Xavier Thebes, President of LaLiga, in a subsequent statement expressed his satisfaction with UEFA’s new economic control: “Economic sustainability in football is of the utmost importance for the present and future of the industry, on which hundreds of thousands of jobs depend through Clubs and Leagues. This is a historic moment, implementing for the first time at a European level spending limits for the sports squad and requiring that all operations be based on the real market value, thus avoiding financial doping and the inflationary effect of state clubs.”

This will be the new economic control

For the UEFA License, the net worth of the clubs will be looked at, which must be positive as of December 31 of the previous season, or have improved by 10% compared to December 31 of the previous year. Regarding the norm that governs the sustainability of the clubs (former Fair Play), the Football Earnings Rule is established. This norm is calculated as Relevant Income minus Relevant Expenses, and must be positive (or within an acceptable deviation of €5M) for the three-season monitoring period. An important concept is added for this preserve to the clubs-State: income and expenses must be adjusted to a real value and not inflated to make up accounts. That is, all operations will be measured at market value. The income accounted for above the market value will be considered capital contributions for the excess over said market value. And finally, the salary limit must be less than 70% of income.