UEFA: 'No investigation into Manchester City with regards to FFP'
Manchester City's spending in the summer transfer window reportedly reached £220.5 million, but UEFA won't be investigating the Citizens.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Javier Tebas, La Liga's president, said that City and Paris Saint-Germain are benefiting from state aid, which distorts European competitions and "is irreparably harming the football industry." While the Investigatory Chamber of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body opened a formal investigation into PSG as part of its ongoing monitoring of clubs under Financial Fair Play regulations, the Citizens will not suffer a similar fate.
A spokesman for UEFA declared, according to the Guardian's Jamie Jackson: "There is no investigation into Manchester City with regards to FFP regulations. Any reports mentioning such an investigation are unsubstantiated."
City's signings in the summer transfer window included:
- Benjamin Mendy (£52 million)
- Kyle Walker (reported £50 million)
- Bernardo Silva (reported £43.6 million)
- Ederson (reported £34.9 million)
- Danilo (reported £26.5 million)
- Douglas Luiz (reported £10 million)
- Larry Kayode (reported £3.5 million)
As Jackson explains, FFP rules allow clubs to record a £30-million loss - add-ons aren't factored in until triggered - and, since prices are amortised over the course of a footballer's contract, the Citizens appear to have no reason to be worried about breaching regulations.
UEFA's formal investigation into PSG was announced following Les Parisiens' €222-million signing of Neymar from Barcelona. The French club also acquired Kylian Mbappe on a loan basis from AS Monaco, and the agreement contains a clause to complete a permanent deal for a fee that's apparently believed to be valued at around €180 million.