La Liga files complaints to UEFA against PSG and Manchester City

MADRID (AP) — The Spanish league has filed a complaint to UEFA against Paris Saint-Germain, saying Wednesday the French club broke financial fair play rules when it gave Kylian Mbappé a new deal that convinced him to reject a move to Real Madrid.

The league said it denounced PSG to UEFA this week, adding to a similar complaint it made in April against Manchester City, which it says also “continuously fails to comply with the current financial fair play regulations.”

The Spanish league said it will take additional legal action against PSG in the European Union, France and Switzerland.

“LaLiga considers that these practices alter the ecosystem and the sustainability of soccer, harm all European clubs and leagues, and only serve to artificially inflate the market with money not generated in soccer itself,” the league said in a statement.

After Mbappé rejected Madrid last month, the Spanish league said the player's new three-year contract with PSG was “scandalous” and hurt the economic stability of European soccer.

“LaLiga understands that these clubs are being improperly financed, either through direct injections of money or through sponsorships and other contracts that do not correspond to market conditions or make economic sense,” the league said Wednesday.

The Spanish league argues that it wouldn't be financially viable for PSG to reach an agreement with Mbappé considering its recent losses while maintaining an expensive squad that includes Lionel Messi and Neymar.

The complaint against Man City was filed in April, and the league said it may take further action against the clubs as new data is gathered.

PSG is owned by the state-run Qatar Sports Investments, while Man City is under Abu Dhabi ownership.

Spanish league president Javier Tebas has often attacked state-owned clubs for what he calls their disregard to financial fair play rules. He tweeted after news broke that Mbappé was staying with PSG that it was an “INSULT to soccer.”

The French league later wrote a letter to Tebas disapproving his attacks and saying they were unfounded.

The Spanish league said it hired law firms in France and Switzerland to handle the legal actions in those countries, including possibly against PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi for “conflict of interest” over his roles with UEFA and other soccer-related entities.

It isn't the first time the Spanish league has taken action against PSG and Man City. It had already filed complaints against them over breach of financial fair play rules in 2017 and 2018, leading to sanctions by UEFA that were eventually reversed by “strange” decisions by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, according to the Spanish league.

“LaLiga continues to take on the responsibility of defending financial fair play and sustainable soccer in Europe,” the league said.

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