Paris Saint-Germain to “calmly” present FFP case to Uefa next week
French giants Paris Saint-Germain insist they have no substantive financial fair play (FFP) concerns with European football governing body Uefa, after reports suggested they are facing punishment for breaching the regulation.
The Qatari-owned club's world record £200m deal for Neymar and another lucrative agreement for striker Kylian Mbappe last summer triggered a Uefa investigation into how they could afford such an outlay without violating the maximum financial loss permitted by FFP rules.
Uefa's probe has determined that the value of PSG's sponsorship contracts with Qatari companies such as Qatar National Bank, beIN Sports and the Qatar Tourism Authority, has been "overstated" according to a report from the Financial Times.
PSG could face a hefty fine or even exclusion from the Champions League in such a scenario, but the French league leaders have denied the report's claims and insist they have been transparent with Uefa ahead of a meeting next week over the issue.
"Paris Saint-Germain can only regret the fact that a few days before a scheduled meeting with Uefa, wrong information comes out again and is directed against the club in the British press," read a club statement.
"Paris Saint-Germain recalls that the club has been monitored by Uefa for four years in the framework of the settlement signed in 2014 between the two parties and from which it was released in 2017.
"In fact, the European body has a clear and transparent vision of the financial state of the club, and in particular the amounts of multi-year contracts that bind it to its partners. The procedure is ongoing.
"Paris Saint-Germain is in permanent contact with its interlocutors at Uefa and will present calmly before the governing body of European football on April 20 to present the case."
Earlier this season PSG were accused of "financial doping" by Spanish La Liga chief Javier Tebas. Such public pressure could compel Uefa into responding harshly to any infringements PSG had been adjudged to have made.
“If PSG fail the Financial Fair Play tests, they are likely to face significant sanctions in 2018/19 and leading clubs, in particular Barcelona, are going to be vocal in holding UEFA to account," Karish Andrews, partner in the sports business group at law firm Lewis Silkin, told City A.M.
“If the club is found in breach, anything less than the imposition of onerous sanctions is likely to lead PSGs rivals, indeed the footballing world, to question the validity of Financial Fair Play.”
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