UEFA rushes to launch inquiry into PSG splash on Neymar and Mbappe
KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTING —- European federation UEFA has launched an inquiry into the remarkable transfer spending of French club Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
Qatari-owned PSG spent €222m early at the start of last month on Brazilian superstar Neymar from Barcelona and then, earlier this week, agreed the loan of Monaco’s French teenager Kylian Mbappe with a view to a €140m purchase next year.
Eyes of the storm: Mbappe and Neymar
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has insisted that the governing body will not be a “toothless tiger” as far as the enforcement of its financial fair play regulations are concerned.
The FFP control system depends on evidence adduced from a club’s year-end accounts. In the case of PSG the balance of current spending against revenue would not be clear until next spring.
Ceferin and UEFA have decided that, amid the negative publicity, they cannot afford to wait.
In a statement, UEFA said: “The investigatory chamber of the UEFA club financial control body has opened a formal investigation into Paris Saint-Germain as part of its ongoing monitoring of clubs under financial fair play regulations.
Compliance issue
“The investigation will focus on the compliance of the club with the break-even requirement, particularly in light of its recent transfer activity. In the coming months, the investigatory chamber will regularly meet in order to carefully evaluate all documentation pertaining to this case.
“UEFA considers Financial Fair Play to be a crucial governance mechanism which aims to ensure the financial sustainability of European club football.”
PSG and Manchester City were rapped over the knuckles by UEFA’s club control body three years ago, fined and ordered to trim their squads in the Champions League.
Conveniently PSG purged their sins earlier this year. However the subsequent spending splurge by PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi prompted doubts about whether the French club, at least, had learned their lesson.
Last week Ceferin said: “To be honest, I hope so. If that is not the case then we will teach them. I am not talking only about Paris Saint-Germain . . . You can be sure that we are working on all of this.”
PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi has said that the club is confident it has not breached financial fair play regulations. A club statement said it had kept UEFA abreast of its dealings although not obliged to do so.
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