The European Football Union (UEFA) has fined eight top European clubs, including French title holders Paris St Germain and Italian champions AC Milan, for breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP).
The First Chamber of the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) found that Milan, city rivals Inter, record champions Juventus Torino and Conference League winners AS Roma from Italy’s Serie A, as well as Ligue 1 representatives PSG, AS Monaco and Olympique Marseille and top Turkish club Besiktas Istanbul, failed to comply with the so-called break-even rule in the period 2018 to 2022, meaning they spent more money than they took in.
The eight clubs were fined a total of €172 million, which will be withheld from their income from participating in UEFA club competitions or paid directly. However, only 15 per cent (a total of 26 million euros) will be due immediately. The remaining 85 per cent (146 million euros) are suspended. This is four years for Inter Milan and Roma, and three years for each of the other six clubs. Paris St. Germain was fined the most: Ten million euros are due immediately, 65 million euros suspended.
Nineteen clubs that participated in UEFA’s 2021/22 club competitions, including Bundesliga representatives Borussia Dortmund, Union Berlin and VfL Wolfsburg, as well as major international clubs Manchester City, FC Chelsea and FC Barcelona, only “technically” met the break-even requirement thanks to the application of Corona relief in 2020 and 2021 or historically positive financial results, according to UEFA.
From the 2023 financial year onwards, the COVID relief and the consideration of historical financial results will no longer apply.
