Maheta Molango: “There is no default forecast at Chelsea”

Maheta Molango (1982, Switzerland) is the head of the players in Great Britain through the most influential sports union in the world. A position in the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) in which he landed after a kind of opposition from among 95 candidates from which he emerged the winner. Among other reasons, because he never stopped training. Not even during his career as a footballer, which took him to Spain, England or Germany, from where he came and went to take Law and Politics exams at the Carlos III University of Madrid.

That sacrifice earned him to be appointed as the sports lawyer for Spain in Baker McKenzie, to be legal advisor to Atlético de Madrid and finally CEO of Mallorca between 2016 and 2020, when he achieved two consecutive promotions until he beat Real Madrid. Now he works at the offices of the British Footballers Association in Philpot Lane, in the heart of the City of London, where he attends Diario AS to comment on the biggest challenges in the football industry -because he also collaborates with FIFA-, without losing in view of Chelsea’s institutional crisis and the white team’s visit to Stamford Bridge in the Champions League on April 6.

-How would you describe the work you are doing in England?

The British footballers’ union is the oldest in the world. It was born in 1907 and it is very important because my predecessor managed to create a standard contract, a collective bargaining committee and the PFA has the right of veto. That is why last year they tried to impose a salary cap on the players and the union blocked it, they tried to change the number of players per squad, and since the correct procedure was not followed, the PFA was able to stop it. My day to day is very varied because in England there is a rule that says that in any disciplinary procedure the PFA may be representing the player.

For example, two weeks ago I was in a meeting with a club in the top 6 of the Premier who wanted to fine a player and we represented him. If the fine exceeds two weeks’ salary, we have to approve it. In the PFA there is a branch of legal representation, another of training for coaches -Mikel Arteta passed through there-, a department of women’s football, another special department of degenerative mental problems derived from football and blows to the head of footballers. We cover both footballers and ex-footballers, so we represent 55,000 people.

We also have a ‘pension scheme’ to manage the retirement of soccer players with a private pension plan in which we enter 7,000 euros a year per professional player up to the third division, without them contributing. This derives from the fact that we have an agreement whereby they give us 4% of all the transfers that are made and that go to the PFA. If I had to summarize, the PFA is important because of its tradition and its influence. We have a budget of 30 million euros per year.

“We had an important meeting with Infantino and Wenger about the calendar”

-What are the biggest problems you are having to face?

The calendar is a priority. Too many games are played and in England this frequency is more accentuated. That is not a problem for the players, it is a problem for football as an industry. We are not seeing the best version of the players. In fact, a month and a half ago we had an important meeting with FIFA in Manchester where all the captains of the Premier and the Women Superleague were present, to speak with Gianni Infantino and Arsene Wenger, for FIFA, and see how we can adopt a meaningful calendar.

-Chelsea’s situation has ended up affecting your players, did you get in touch with them? Have you had to take steps to resolve the situation?

We are in contact with the players in general. We are not in the day to day of what can happen within the club. We see it from the perspective that it can affect the players and luckily now it has not had a contractual impact on them and we are pending.

– Precisely The Telegraph announced last week that some agents of blue players would have consulted lawyers about their situation and the options of leaving in the event that they were not paid their salary, what chance do they have? How do you think they will face the game against Real Madrid?

Being a lawyer, I am not a person who speculates. The reality is that there is no situation of non-payment and there is no forecast of that happening. Within the difficulty of the situation, there is a certain calm. We will have to see how things evolve.

“The thing with Chelsea right now is perhaps an emotional issue rather than a contractual one”

-You who have been a director of a club like Mallorca and legal advisor to Atlético de Madrid, how long do you think it could take for Chelsea to unfreeze their accounts?

The important thing for us is that the contractual obligations are met. There is a pending sale process that should give Chelsea long-term stability. Right now it is perhaps an emotional issue rather than a contractual one.

-British government sanctions have hit Alisher Usmanov, who was Everton’s main sponsor, Abramovich, former owner of Chelsea, and now Sheikh Mansour, the owner of City have also been reprimanded in the House of Commons. What solution do you see to this problem so deeply rooted in British football with the dubious origin of the capital that finances it?

To begin with, we must consider what the role of the government in football should be. We have to reflect if this is the direction that football wants to take. But even before this situation there was a debate about the ownership of the clubs. There was a parliamentary commission that was created in England after the creation of the Super League to assess what the future of club ownership had to be. The government is considering creating new rules for the ‘directors and owners fit and proper test’ to verify the reliability of new investors. Footballers are the most affected by this, and they are the first affected.

-The Conservative MP Tracey Crouch wants to carry out “47 measures to save English football”, in which she wants to propose the creation of a fan veto right, what is the position of the PFA?

We participated in the project because they gave us an audience both in writing and orally. Tracey Crouch’s project generated a debate that was important. Like everything in life, you have to see both sides: what works and what doesn’t. There is an intermediate point and, being a foreigner, having grown up in football in Spain, I think there are things that work in England. The product of the Premier is internationally recognized, the English team reached the final of the European Championship… there are things in Tracey’s work that are interesting although we must not forget that football works. Tuchel commented that the German model is a model where the fans have a lot of power, but it’s like everything else, COVID has shown us that we all play for the fans, although what can never be missing are the players… and the ball .

“Football is capable of regulating itself, otherwise it will be a failure for the industry”

-The British government is more involved than the Spanish in football? Is it normal?

We are waiting to see what they are going to do with that report, to see if it is implemented. I still think that football is capable of regulating itself, otherwise it will be a failure for the industry. That report has to make us reflect on how we can demonstrate that we are capable of doing so.

-Three weeks ago in a Financial Times forum, Andrea Agnelli, president of Juventus and one of the promoters of the Super League, confirmed that the project is going ahead, what is your perspective?

I have no record of whether it continues. It is important not to lose sight of what has made us fall in love with football. We believe a lot in the pyramid, in the ascents and the descents. I have experienced it first hand when I was a player. I think that my family and I will never forget the two promotions of Mallorca until reaching First Division. The possibility that Mallorca is in Second B and aspires to beat Madrid two years later: that is the magic of football and you cannot lose it. I think that any project that understands the ingredients that make our eyes shine will be welcome.

“Athletic and Real are good examples of two completely different models of sports society”

-Now that the system of public limited companies in football is in question, what is the model to follow?

Everything lies in balance. There is the example of the clubs that belong to the members and that have very serious economic problems, and another example of Sports Public Limited Companies (SAD) that have been very successful. It is a question of establishing in which hands I put my club. Sometimes we get obsessed with models, but in the end the model is people, and why they come, what respect they have. Football is not just another investment, it is the product closest to religion.

Athletic Bilbao is a good example, it is a financially healthy club, a fabulous youth academy, a fantastic stadium and a fantastic feeling of belonging. It’s from his partners and I’ve always found it fantastic. And being in the same region, I think that Real Sociedad is a fantastic club, that it is an SAD, and a completely different model.

“The example is César Azpilicueta”

-The footballers are very involved?

The example is César Azpilicueta. He is a phenomenon, as well as being highly respected by his teammates on other teams. He has earned respect for what he has done on the field and for understanding the bigger picture. Sounds like a great profile. When he said that football had to remain in the hands of people who understand and care about the sector, I think Azpilicueta is a good example. Also Juan Mata, Paul Pogba or Fernandinho. They are very involved, very interested, with intelligent comments when we meet with FIFA. They are informed people, with an understanding of things beyond their personal problems, who are aware of the platform they have. I feel super proud to listen to people like César Azpilicueta.