By Andrew Warshaw in Monaco
August 31 – On the final day of the summer transfer window, President Michel Platini warned today that UEFA will not back down over plans to enforce sanctions against clubs who spend beyond their means.
The coming season will be the last transition period before European football’s governing body sits in serious judgement on any clubs deemed to be overspending, with penalties for abusing break-even rules ranging from warnings to being thrown out of European competition.
Platini said UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations would “revolutionise European football” in terms of stopping clubs overstretching themselves.
“We are never going to go back on this,” Platini (pictured below, centre) told a press conference in Monaco ahead of tonight’s Super Cup fixture between Chelsea of England and Spain’s Atlético Madrid.
“There was a provisional period of three or four years for the system to get set up.
“This period is reaching its end.
“We are determined to see this through.”
Figures released by UEFA have suggested the Financial Fair Play rules are already beginning to bite: last January’s transfer window was far quieter than in 2011 with a 36 per cent decrease in spending.
The comparison between January 2012 and the January average for the previous four seasons shows that activity was 20 per cent lower this time; Russia, Germany, France and Turkey were the only notable exceptions among the major markets.
In terms of the summer 2012 transfer window, excluding the final day of trading, the average decrease in spending was 22 per cent compared with the seasonal average.
As of August 30, €1.753 billion (£1.4 billion/$2.2 billion) had been spent on players – considerably lower than the summer transfer annual average of €2.249 (£1.8 billion/$2.8 billion) billion.
Spanish clubs were the biggest belt-tighteners, spending 35 per cent less over this summer.
Taken together, the winter and summer transfer spend was €2.146 billion (£1.7 billion/$2.7 billion), 78 per cent of the 2008-2011 average.
UEFA admitted that revenues had not slowed down as quickly as it had been hoped and that losses, which it is trying so hard to reduce and which last year stood at €1.6 billion (£1.3 billion/$2.0 billion), had accelerated.
But at least, conceded UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino, the situation had started to stabilise, a clear indication that financial fair play was being heeded.
“Revenues in football may have gone up but for the first time in the last five years the percentage between revenues and losses is going down – the trend is starting to turn,” he said.
To stress its point further, UEFA revealed that its Club Financial Control Body is currently investigating 27 unnamed European clubs for non-payment of either transfer fees or salaries and that their prize money had been suspended.
In recent months, said Infantino, €36 million (£28.5 million/$45.3 million) of overdue fees were paid by clubs – but only after UEFA had intervened.
“These are not just words, it’s a clear signal that the clubs are afraid,” Infantino said.
“They know the rules are there and that sanctions can be taken – so they pay.”
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