Spanish La Liga files complaint against PSG, Manchester City for financial fair play rule breach

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp and Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Spanish La Liga on Wednesday filed a complaint with UEFA against the French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and England's Manchester City, claiming that they continuously violate financial fair play rules.

"La Liga considers that these practices alter the ecosystem and sustainability of football, harm all European clubs and leagues, and only serve to artificially inflate the market, with money not generated within football itself," La Liga said in a statement.

La Liga had lodged a complaint against Manchester City in April and did the same against PSG last week.

The Spanish top-tier league had also filed submissions with UEFA against the two clubs in 2017 and in 2018 "for breaching financial fair play."

As a result, both clubs previously faced UEFA sanctions but they were overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

In May, La Liga chief Javier Tebas slammed PSG star Kylian Mbappe's stay at the club, labelling his deal "an insult to football."

French forward Mbappe, 23, refused Real Madrid's offer to extend his stay at the Parc des Princes until 2025.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner has been a PSG regular since 2017 and he is regarded one of the best forwards of his generation.

"What PSG is doing by renewing Mbappe with large sums of money ... after posting losses of €700 million ($727.7 million) in recent seasons and having a wage bill of over €600 million, is an INSULT to football," Tebas tweeted.

He added that PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi "is as dangerous as the (European) Super League."

In April 2021, a dozen European giants from England, Italy, and Spain announced to form the European Super League to rival the top-tier UEFA Champions League. But after a major backlash, nine of the 12 clubs quit the project before it fully took off.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Italy's Juventus are the only clubs that insisted to pursue the idea.

"PSG is going to end up with losses of 200 million (euros), it has already been dragging 300 (million euros) ... and they go and renew Mbappe with those amounts. They are going to have to cheat, I don't know if paying outside the French environment or fattening up the sponsorships a lot, which they already do,"Tebas told the Spanish media this week.

He also criticized Manchester City about their new sensational signing, Norwegian star Erling Haaland.

"City must have done something, because Haaland asked the clubs for more apart from the 60 million (euros) that have been paid," he added.

English champions Manchester City signed Haaland from Germany's Borussia Dortmund on Monday.

The 21-year-old will join Man City on July 1 after he inked a five-year deal with the English club.