Top bosses at European football teams on Tuesday unveiled a series of reforms to the way finances are organised and monitored for outfits competing in continental competitions
The European Club Association (ECA) - which is made up of 247 clubs including Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, backed the proposed scrapping of financial fair play (FFP) rules in favour of a new system governed by a spending limit.
Under the new regulations, clubs will have their spending on wages, transfers and agent fees capped at 70 per cent of their revenue.
They will, however, be able to boost their spending by recouping money on player sales.
The cap will be phased in over three years. In 2023, teams will be allowed to spend 90 per cent of revenue, with 80 per cent in 2024 and eventually 70 per cent.
Rules
“These new rules are designed to ensure costs are better controlled, while still encouraging investment that will secure our game’s long-term sustainable future,” said ECA chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
FFP has been a bone of contention since its introduction in 2010. It was brought in to limit the disparities between the traditional powerhouse clubs and the minnows. But the discrepancies appeared to widen.
European football's governing body, Uefa, which organises the Champions League, the Europa League and the Europa Conference League, has faced criticism over the years that the latter stages of the Champions League - its most prestigious competition - has become a closed shop for well-financed teams.
The last time a team from outside the "Big Four" leagues of England, Germany, Italy and Spain lifted the Champions League title came in 2004 when Jose Mourinho steered the Portuguese side Porto to the triumph at the expense of the French Ligue 1 side Monaco.
Limits
Up until PSG's defeat to Bayern Munich in 2020, only teams from the Big Four had contested the Champions League finals.
Uefa chiefs are expected to agree to the changes at an executive meeting on 7 April.
“Uefa has incorporated many of ECA’s comments – made on behalf of all 240-plus clubs – including how the new rules need to be simple, fair, transparent and enforceable; and we look forward to the new system being implemented shortly,” added Al-Khelaifi.
Clubs that breach the rules will be liable for fines, points deductions in the new “Swiss model” format that the Champions League is set to adopt from 2024. The most severe infractions could see teams relegated from the top competition to the Europa League.
The ECA also suggested that two teams should automatically qualify for the Champions League on the basis of their performances in Europe over several years rather than than solely on their league position.
