UEFA has suspended Manchester City from the Champions League for two seasons for breaching its "Financial Fair Play" rules. The club was found to have cooked its books in a bid to appear to be within the spending limits.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/D. Staples
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Defending English Premier League champions Manchester City will not be allowed to compete in any European club competitions in the next two seasons (2020-21 and 2021-22), after it was found guilty of committing "serious breaches of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations," European football's governing body UEFA announced on Friday. However, the club immediately said it would appeal the verdict.
The club, owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, royal family member and also deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, had long been under close scrutiny as one of the biggest spenders in European football.
The Adjudicatory Chamber of UEFA's so-called Club Financial Control Body found that between 2012 and 2016, Manchester City had deceived auditors "by overstating its sponsorship revenue in its accounts and in the break-even information submitted to UEFA between 2012 and 2016." UEFA also complained the team "failed to cooperate in the investigation of this case."
City also face a fine of €30 million ($32.5 million), although the lost revenue from Champions League games and TV royalties would likely dwarf that sum.
The club said in a statement that it was "disappointed, but not surprised" by the decision, announcing its intention to appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and saying the investigator, Belgian former Prime Minister Yves Leterme, always intended to sanction City.
"The subsequent flawed and consistently leaked UEFA process he oversaw has meant that there was little doubt in the result that he would deliver," the club's statement said. City also lodged a formal complaint with UEFA.
Biggest FFP sanction to date
The Financial Fair Play rules, also known by the acronym FFP, seek to limit the amount of money a club can spend in a given season. It does so by looking not at expenditure, but at a club's balance sheet, with excessive losses in set time periods potentially subject to sanction. The rules were agreed in principle back in 2009 and implemented in the 2011-12 season.
"The rules were introduced to try to control billionaire playboys who buy themselves a football club for fun and want to win a big trophy and yet may not have the same kind of emotional attachment to these clubs that generations of fans might have," said DW's Hannah Cleaver.
Disqualification from European competition is the most serious sanction available to UEFA for breaching FFP rules. In Manchester City, it is suspending a club that would have been almost certain to qualify for the top-tier Champions League in both seasons, potentially with a chance of winning it outright.
Sheikh Mansour acquired Manchester City in 2008, immediately boosting investment in what had become the city of Manchester's smaller club. He's helped the team win four Premier League titles since then. However, a European trophy has evaded the Sky Blues thus far. The team, coached by Pep Guardiola, face Real Madrid in the next round of this season's Champions League, and will remain eligible to compete despite its upcoming ban.
Football Money League: the richest football clubs on the planet
Barcelona top Deloitte's Football Money League for the very first time, surpassing archrivals Real Madrid as the world's richest club. Bayern Munich in fourth are the only Bundesliga club in the top 10.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Monfort
Barcelona - 840.8 million euros
The Catalans top the Money League for the very first time and are the first football club ever to generate an annual revenue of more than €800 million. Barca have increased their revenue by more than €150m compared to 2019 after bringing merchandizing and licensing activities in-house. The club's biggest asset remains Lionel Messi. The Argentinian superstar is not for sale.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Monfort
Real Madrid - 757.3 million euros
Barcelona's archrivals Real Madrid have dropped to second place after a year of mixed results on the pitch. The 13-times European champions increased their revenue by only 0.99 percent from last year (€750.9m) but that could change again in 2020. The club from the Spanish capital are after the signatures of big names such as Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappé to usher in a new Galacticos era.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Ammar
Manchester United - 711.5 million euros
Two years ago, the Red Devils topped the Deloitte ranking but now Manchester United are back down to third, just as in 2019. The 20-times English champions increased their revenue by almost 50 million euros this year but, with on-pitch struggles again leaving Champions League qualification in doubt, they are in danger of being superceded by local rivals Manchester City in next year's Money League.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/empics/M. Rickett
Bayern Munich - 660.1 million euros
New Bayern president Herbert Hainer (left) has inherited a healthy club from Uli Hoeness (right). The Bavarian giants increased their revenue by €31m this year, but an extended deal with automobile partner and 8.33% shareholder Audi is reported to be worth a further €50m a year until 2029. Despite earning less TV money than English or Spanish clubs, Bayern held on to fourth place in the ranking.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Hase
Paris St. Germain - 635.9 million euros
For the past eight years, the French club have been financed by the Qatari state investment group QSI. The Qataris have pumped hundreds of millions into the club in order to sign top players like Neymar and hire quality coaches such as Thomas Tuchel, formerly of Borussia Dortmund. The club's main goal has been to lift the Champions League trophy but money hasn't proven to be enough so far.
Image: Reuters/C. Hartmann
Manchester City - 610.6 million euros
Another club bankrolled by a Gulf state and which dreams of winning the Champions League, Manchester City have been owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group since 2008, changing the fortunes of a club which spent decades in their red neighbor's shadow. Since the takeover, City have won the Premier League four times and in 2016 they hired coach Pep Guardiola with Champions League success in mind.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/PA Wire/M. Rickett
Liverpool - 604.7 million euros
But where Man City have so far failed, Liverpool have succeeded. The Reds won a sixth Champions League / European Cup in 2019 under German coach Jürgen Klopp, but it's been 30 years since they were last crowned English champions. This season, that dream is closer than ever, and lifting the Premier League trophy should translate into more revenue for the Merseyside club in 2020.
Image: Reuters/K. Pfaffenbach
Tottenham Hotspur - 521.1 million euros
Spurs owe their improved place in the ranking mainly to their brand new stadium, opened in April 2019. Increased matchday earnings at the "New White Hart Lane" hav contributed to a 21% rise in total revenue, enabling last season's Champions League finalists to leapfrog local North London rivals Arsenal into eighth place - a record high for the club currently managed by Jose Mourinho.
Italian record champions Juventus moved back into the top 10 with Deloitte claiming that the arrival of Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo "increased Juventus' commercial appeal". The 34-year-old joined Juventus from Real Madrid for more than €100 million in July 2018. other signings such as Matthijs de Ligt also boosted Juventus' brand visibility and commercial revenue.
