Manchester City-PSG recalls a turning point in UEFA sanctions

The Champions League meeting between Manchester City and PSG, scheduled for Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium, recalls a decision that could have left both clubs facing more severe sanctions. The prospect carries particular weight after Manchester City’s guilty verdict from the Premier League was published a fortnight ago, to the displeasure of PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi.

The two Gulf clubs were among the first found to have breached UEFA’s financial fair play rules, in 2014. The governing body’s investigators put PSG’s deficit at €218m and City’s at €188m between 2011 and 2013, when the maximum permitted loss for clubs in European competitions was €45m. Neither club was charged at the time: both reached settlement agreements. They were, however, liable for a further €40m if they broke the terms of those agreements.

In April 2017, UEFA said both clubs had “fully complied with all the requirements”. Whether City adhered to the spending limits has nevertheless remained contested. In 2020, the club was suspended from the Champions League for two years following a UEFA investigation into the “overstating” of sponsorship revenue between 2012 and 2016. The ban was overturned on appeal, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport finding that “most of the alleged breaches were either not established or time-barred”.

Last month, an independent Premier League commission found that City had significantly breached UEFA spending limits between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons and had filed misstated accounts, concealing its financial position. City has appealed the verdict. Nasser al-Khelaifi of PSG and Manchester City's Khaldoon al-Mubarak each serve at a high level within their country's state investment fund. The release of the judgment also overshadowed last month’s European Football Clubs general assembly in Copenhagen, where Al-Khelaifi was due to give a speech.

In 2018, Der Spiegel claimed that Gianni Infantino, then at UEFA, had helped reduce the sanctions being considered against City and PSG. The publication also reported secret discussions and confidential documents. Infantino defended his dealings with the clubs, saying he had acted “in an honest way, in a professional way and trying to defend the interests of football”. PSG says it has “always acted in full compliance with the laws and regulations enacted by sports institutions”.

The contrast remains: Al-Khelaifi arrives as a figure close to the governing bodies, while City is challenging the Premier League verdict. Some City fans may therefore wonder whether the club could have followed the more diplomatic route taken by PSG, while others continue to show their opposition to UEFA by booing the Champions League anthem.