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City, PSG blast La Liga chief
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THE head of the Spanish league was denounced by Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday after he criticized the financing of the two clubs by their Gulf state owners.
La Liga President Javier Tebas resorted to a crude analogy to reproach PSG’s conduct during the summer transfer window in front of soccer executives at a convention in Manchester.
While in the northern English city, Tebas also turned his ire on how City is loaning players to its new sister club in Spain, Girona. Tebas was quickly confronted by the leadership of Abu Dhabi-owned City during a meeting.
Tebas had already censured City and Qatar-owned PSG in letters to UEFA last month, accusing the clubs of “financial doping” and of breaching Financial Fair Play rules by inflating sponsorships from their ownership’s homelands.
City rebuked Tebas in an unusually blunt statement, hours after he met with fellow Spaniard, Ferran Soriano, the club’s chief executive on Wednesday.
“Mr Tebas’ statements are ill-informed,” City said, “and in parts pure fiction.”
During media briefings in Manchester on Wednesday morning, Tebas accused City of sending players to Girona on the cheap, ensuring that the Spanish club didn’t have to bear the financial burden of the loans to comply with domestic regulations.
Tebas claimed La Liga has intervened to ensure Girona is suitably paying for the five players loaned during the summer transfer window by City, whose owners — the City Football Group — recently bought a 44.3 percent share in the Spanish club.
Pere Guardiola, the brother of City manager Pep, is the managing director of Girona Football Group, which has taken an equal 44.3 percent share in the club.
“As you would expect, Manchester City Football Club and the City Football Group are seeking appropriate legal counsel and will act accordingly on that advice,” City said, in relation to Tebas’ comments.
In France, PSG was backed by its league leadership, which rounded on Tebas’ criticism.
The French club broke soccer’s transfer record by buying Neymar from Barcelona for 222 million euros (US$262 million), depriving La Liga of one of the game’s hottest talents. In Manchester, Tebas likened PSG to someone who relieves themselves in a swimming pool when discussing how the club could have financed the transfer.
The French league said in a statement it “firmly condemns the insulting” comments.
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