Manchester City’s Champions League Ban Lays Bare Conflict Over Cash
A few years back Europe’s biggest teams were deep in the red. A new rule changed that, but is it a good thing?
In 2011, Europe’s top 900 or so soccer teams lost a combined 1.7 billion euros. By 2018, that had become a net profit of 140 million euros. The change is due largely to rules called Financial Fair Play aimed at keeping clubs from spending more than they earn from broadcast revenue and sales of tickets, jerseys, sponsorships, and ads in their stadiums.
Backers of the policy say it has breathed new life into the sport and made it possible to actually run clubs as businesses. Detractors say it kills a lot of what’s fun about soccer. A dispute over a stiff penalty imposed on Manchester City for violating the regulations is poised to determine which side prevails. Clubs “not at the very top of the sport are frustrated by the constraints on spending and feel the rules stifle their ability to grow and compete,” says Alex Kelham, a partner at Lewis Silkin, a London law firm that works on sports deals.