Platini plan would stop rich owners bankrolling Europe's top clubs

March 27 – English football’s super-rich owners, like Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City and Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, face drastic new curbs on their influence under UEFA proposals, according to a report.

Michel Platini, the UEFA president aims to end “financial doping” and in a 60-page document seen by The Times, he sets out its detailed plans to force clubs towards break-even, allowing them to spend only what they earn.

Under the proposals, which UEFA intends to bring into effect in 2012, owners would be permitted to fund losses for a transitional period but the sums of money used for that purpose would be closely monitored.

Initially losses of up to €45 million (£40 million/$60 million) would be acceptable in the three years up to 2015.

That figure would drop to €30 million (£27million/$40 million) over the following three years, with UEFA ultimately hoping to reach a point where clubs are breaking even.

That would mean an owner like Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City would not be allowed to invest more than £10 million (€11 million/£15 million) on average, unless the money is spent on infrastructure or the youth team, which have no limits on investment.

Manchester City recently announced losses of £92.6 million (€103 million/£138 million).

In December, the English Football League revealed that Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City spent the most money on agents’ fees over the past year as the club signed up top players in its attempts to join the elite.

Funded by the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, the club has spent about £400 million (€444 million/$596 million) on the club and players since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s takeover in September 2008 to the end of last year.

Platini expects to see the draft proposals set out in the March 2010 UEFA Club Licensing paper to be implemented by the Executive Committee this summer, although negotiations will continue with the leading clubs across Europe who oppose the plans.

The new regulations also state that players’ salaries should not add up to more than 70 per cent of that annual revenue figure, although at several Premier League clubs they are in excess of 100 per cent.

The proposals will fuels claims that Platini is anti the Premier League.

He insists he is not.

UEFA recently published The European Club Footballing Landscape report, which revealed that 47 per cent of Europe’s top clubs made a loss in 2008 despite record revenues.

Although the Premier League clubs reported the highest revenue, they also owed almost £4 billion (€4.4 billion/$6 billion).

Platini wants other european countries to adopt the German model in which at least 51 per cent of every club must be owned by the supporters, ruling out private speculators.