Ligue 1 clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille are set to be hit by fines over breaches of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
It comes after PSG striker Kylian Mbappe opted to sign a three-year contract extension with the Ligue 1 champions earlier this year, keeping him in the French capital until 2025. That made the Frenchman the best paid player in world football and came less than a year after the French club rejected a world record transfer offer from Real Madrid for the striker.
Mbappe is now earning £42.5million (€50m) per annum, which is in addition to his bonus of £153million (€180m) for staying at the Parc des Princes, where he now also has 100 percent control of his image rights.
Previous to that new deal, his PSG teammate Lionel Messi was the best paid player in the world. The Argentine’s first year in Paris saw him take home an annual salary of £25.5million (€30m), although this increased to £34million (€40m) for his current and final year of his two-year deal in Paris. It is claimed that Messi has received more than €1,000m throughout his career – more than any other player.
It has now been outlined by L'Equipe that PSG’s spiralling wage bill has seen them informed by UEFA that they have breached the FFP quota and are now likely to receive a fine. Along with Marseille, they are now to be subjected to financial sanctions.
If the Ligue 1 pair fail to adhere to the rules and improve their situation over the next three years, then the penalties are expected to become harsher – including a potential exclusion from UEFA competition, such as the Champions League. Both clubs can opt to contest the decision and file an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
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PSG are said to consider the findings of the report unfair and have claimed that the debacle of the Mediapro broadcasting rights has skewed their financial situation. They have also highlighted how the tax burden for top-flight French clubs is higher than in other top leagues.
The Parisian club have been busy again in the summer transfer market this summer; signing Portugal international midfield duo Renato Sanches and Vitinha from Lille and Porto respectively. They have also added striker Hugo Ekitike from Reims and defender Nordi Mukiele from RB Leipzig, while Nuno Mendes’s loan move from Sporting CP has been made permanent.
