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La Liga president Javier Tebas has said Manchester City could only sign Barcelona’s Lionel Messi because he competes outside of UEFA’s financial Fair Play. [FFP] rules.
Messi told Barça that he wanted to leave in the summer, and sources told ESPN that he had already had talks with City, but the Catalan club refused to let him go.
However, the Argentine international is out of contract in June and will be able to walk away from Barça, and potentially La Liga, for free if he does not extend his terms.
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“The only club in the Premier League that talks about signing Messi is Manchester City,” Tebas told a news conference on Tuesday when asked if he was concerned about Messi leaving La Liga for England.
“Given that Manchester City compete outside the rules, what worries me is that they can access a player in violation of UEFA rules [FFP] rules. Not only do I complain about this. [Liverpool coach Jurgen] Klopp and [Tottenham’s Jose] Mourinho has also complained about City ”.
The city’s finances have come under scrutiny since Sheikh Mansour took over the club in 2008. Earlier this year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS] revoked a two-year ban on UEFA club competition for financial irregularities.
The TAS said that most of the alleged defaults were not established or had a set deadline.
“I have criticized so many times what City does, doing it one more time makes no difference,” added Tebas. “They are not affected by COVID-19, nor by pandemics or anything because they are financed in another way and it is impossible to fight against that.”
Tebas spoke after announcing new salary caps for the 42 teams that make up Spain’s two main divisions, with all 20 La Liga clubs forced to cut more than 600 million euros from their spending expenses for the season.
Barcelona has been the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with its salary cap falling almost 300 million euros compared to last season, going from 671 million euros to 382.7 million euros.
The cuts could complicate negotiations with Messi on a new deal. Barça won’t elect a new president until January 24, which is when those talks can begin, but Messi will be free from the beginning of January to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with any club.
While Barcelona, Real Madrid and most of Spain’s top clubs are forced to cut salaries and sell players to balance their accounts, Tebas expressed surprise that spending continued normally in the Premier League during the summer despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am not saying that the Premier League is irresponsible because I am not really involved with their numbers, but I am surprised by the volume of transfers, even with the corrective factor that Chelsea does not sign players for two years,” said the head of La League. .
“I’m sure they are responsible but what we are trying [in Spain with the reduced salary limits and player sales] is to make sure our game is sustainable, not just this season, but also for the next.
“We will see how this evolves for the Premier League. There are important figures to take into account: the fact that they have maintained the level of new signings and the issue with China [television rights] – Going from € 200 million to € 10 million represents a significant reduction in revenue.
“When you add COVID-19 to that, you have to pay attention to make sure the Premier League remains stable. What we want is for all leagues to remain financially stable.”
