Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has slammed Barcelona ‘s financial gymnastics and confirmed that UEFA are set to investigate their controversial dealings.
Barcelona have been the subject of constant scrutiny from the globe during football’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, with Joan Laporta pulling a number of “financial levers” in order to keep his team among Europe’s elite while still complying with La Liga’s regulations.
The Catalan side made the decision to sell future television rights and a large amount of their digital content arm to investment funds and even a crypto firm.
The board’s financial moves allowed Barcelona to spend a huge £137m on a host of star players during the summer transfer window, much to the anger of their rivals.
Al-Khelaifi, whose own club are criticised for being backed by the Qatar Sports Investments fund, has now condemned Barcelona and announced that UEFA – for whom he’s the Executive Committee chairman – will probe their ongoing ploy.
“Is this fair? No, it’s not fair… Is it legal? I’m not sure,’ the PSG chief, who’s also chairman of Qatari broadcaster beIN Media Group, told Politico. “If they allow them, others will do the same. UEFA of course have their own [financial] regulations. For sure they’re going to look at everything.”
Al-Khelaifi’s comments follow his thinly-veiled dig at Barcelona in a conversation with bosses of top European teams on Friday.
“The new financial sustainability rules are a positive development,” the Qatari tycoon, whose name carries increasing clout, explained. “But we need to be careful. Dangerous levels of debt and magical equity deals are not a sustainable path.”
Barcelona declined to comment in response to Politoco’s interview, but UEFA issued a statement to say: “All clubs participating in UEFA club competitions are monitored in accordance with UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Sustainability Regulations. Decisions on compliance are taken by the independent Club Financial Control Body (CFCB).”
Laporta was happy to shed a certain amount of light on Barcelona’s financial issues over the summer, most notably telling ESPN after the £42.5m signing of Lewandowski from Bayern: “We’ve had to move fast. The TV rights were sold, 25 per cent of them, and that has added important revenue.
“The club is on path to being sound; financially the club is better with the money that’s come in, and we’ve been able to pay back €100m of the credit we had through Goldman Sachs. What’s more, it needs to be said, the club is back to being sound economically, but we have to work harder to increase our earnings, not from selling shares but not by profiting through them.”
