By Andrew Warshaw
July 4 – UEFA are to re-open their investigation into big-spending Paris St Germain, rekindling the threat of the Qatari-owned club being thrown out of Europe.
Last month UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) Investigatory Chamber decided to close the probe having found that PSG satisfied FFP regulations between 2015 and 2017 but added the break-even requirement for the 2018 financial year would remain “under close scrutiny.”
This period takes into account the €222 million signing of Neymar from Barcelona and the potential transfer fee of €200 million for rising French superstar Kylian Mbappe who has been on loan from Monaco pending a permanent move this summer.
PSG sold midfielder Javier Pastore to Roma last week for €24.5 million to help balance the books but according to the Financial Times, UEFA investigators believe the Qatar-owned club overstated the market value of sponsorship contracts.
The newspaper said that although it was likely PSG would not be punished next season they could potentially face sanctions the following one.
UEFA are reportedly concerned that sponsorship money may have come from “related parties” – entities with financial or other close links to the club’s owners.
The Financial Times reported a source close to the club saying that they had been told PSG needed to raise €60 million (with player sales being the only way this can be achieved) by the end of last month to meet the FFP regulations for 2018.
UEFA confirmed that the decision to close the investigation will now be reviewed. “This announcement does not pre-judge in any way the result of the review to be conducted by the adjudicatory chamber of the CFCB,” UEFA said in a statement.
The FT says that by reopening the case UEFA may yet decide that the club’s sponsorship contracts are worth well below PSG’s own assessment, which would put it in breach of the regulations.
PSG confirmed it had been informed of the latest move and that it had successfully carried out “an important number of transfers in recent days” in compliance with the CFCB’s original decision.
FFP, brainchild of former UEFA boss Michel Platini, was introduced in 2013 requiring clubs not to spend more than they earn
PSG, owned by Qatar Sports Investments since 2011, has been accused of “financial doping” by outspoken La Liga president Javier Tebas in their elusive quest to finally land the Champions League. They have already been punished once for breaking FFP rules in 2014 when they were fined €60 million but insist they are now fully compliant with the regulations.
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