La Liga chief Tebas accuses PSG of 'continuing to cheat economically'

La Liga president Javier Tebas has accused Paris Saint-Germain of unethical business practices and has called for the club's expulsion from the Champions League if it is found guilty of violating financial fair play (FFP) rules.

UEFA launched an investigation in September into PSG's world-record €222-million move for Neymar and the €180-million one-year loan and subsequent permanent deal for Kylian Mbappe.

That inquiry came 10 days after Tebas wrote Europe's footballing governing body a letter detailing the allegedly nefarious business practices of the Ligue 1 giant. Tebas has also criticised Manchester City in the past, and in discussion with L'Equipe, La Liga's chief has again highlighted what he calls economical cheating.

"In the last five years, we've seen PSG and Manchester City have been the clubs that have invested most in players," Tebas told L'Equipe.

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"As their real revenues don't allow them to make such investments, they have invented fictitious sponsors, linked to states, with amounts that don't correspond to the market."

In broad terms, FFP rules insist clubs balance revenues and spending for a calendar year. The moves for Neymar and Mbappe have brought attention to PSG's financial practices, and Tebas claims that the club's close links with Qatar results in a disadvantage to its competitors.

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

"We compared the revenues of PSG and City with those of Real Madrid, Barca, Manchester United and Bayern. They're superior ..." Tebas added. "At PSG, the sponsorship revenue is linked to Qatar, directly or indirectly, and is superior to those of Manchester United. PSG is continuing to cheat economically."

UEFA is likely to release the results of that investigation next month once PSG has presumably reached the last 16 of Europe's top-tier tournament.

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"If we let someone who cheats compete, it'll hurt other clubs," Tebas continued. "If PSG reaches the Champions League final and is then punished, it will have harmed other clubs. Those PSG have knocked out will have been cheated.

"If, during the season, we see that they have cheated economically, why not exclude them? When a cyclist is convicted of doping, he's immediately kicked out of the race."

PSG released a statement to Tebas' claims, saying, "We're not going to respond to every attack by Mr. Tebas, nor to the great imprecision in most of what he says, which is aimed at manipulating the media to try and damage Paris Saint-Germain's ambitious strategy."

In the past, Tebas has denied that his motivations stem from Neymar's decision to leave Spain's top flight, and PSG's statement acknowledges this, saying, "We're profoundly sorry for him that Ligue 1 was able to attract one of the best three players in the world."