PSG President Nasser al-Khelaifi defends Manchester City
- You are using the word ‘cheating’ but, for them, they didn’t cheat, Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said, defending Manchester City as the two state-backed clubs prepare to...
- The two clubs were among the first found to have broken Uefa’s financial fair play rules in 2014 by margins that dwarf subsequent offenses, according to Uefa investigators...
- While both clubs initially challenged European regulators, their political strategies have since diverged sharply.
You are using the word ‘cheating’ but, for them, they didn’t cheat,
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said, defending Manchester City as the two state-backed clubs prepare to meet in the Champions League. When Manchester City host Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, the fixture will bring together two clubs whose histories are deeply intertwined through early financial fair play breaches, Gulf state ownership, and contrasting political approaches to European football governance, The Guardian reported.
Financial Fair Play History and Settlement Agreements of 2014
The two clubs were among the first found to have broken Uefa’s financial fair play rules in 2014 by margins that dwarf subsequent offenses, according to Uefa investigators cited by The Guardian. Between 2011 and 2013, when permitted losses sat at €45m, PSG posted a deficit of €218m while Manchester City recorded €188m. Both clubs avoided formal charges by signing settlement agreements that limited financial penalties to €20m each alongside spending restrictions, though documents leaked in 2018 alleged that then-Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino played a key role in negotiating those compromises.
Divergent Paths Following the Super League Crisis
While both clubs initially challenged European regulators, their political strategies have since diverged sharply. Conversely, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi aligned himself closely with the European football establishment, taking the chair of the European Football Clubs and partnering directly with Uefa in the commercial operation of the Champions League.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi responds to Manchester City's guilty verdict:"Manchester City did a lot of positive things also, but I am not in a position to judge. We are not in a position to judge. We are not judges and we are not a court."https://t.co/lrcloT4E5A
Recent Premier League Charges and Domestic Form
According to The Guardian, the timing of that release overshadowed Al-Khelaifi’s keynote speech at the European Football Clubs general assembly in Copenhagen.
You will see that I’ve sometimes chosen a wording which ‘looks’ more ‘strong.’ Please read the document with this spirit.
Gianni Infantino, in a 2014 email to Manchester City chair Khaldoon al-Mubarak published by Der Spiegel