UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin has backed Kylian Mbappe 's new deal at Paris Saint Germain after initial complaints from Real Madrid who were snubbed by the Frenchman.
It looked destined that Mbappe would move to Los Blancos, but a late U-turn saw him sign a new blockbuster deal at the Parc des Princes. Madrid were furious, and La Liga filed an official complaint to UEFA by saying that the “scandalous" agreement attacks the economic stability of European football.
But Ceferin has hit back, and dropped Madrid right in it as he claimed that their contract offer was similar to PSG's. And he also said that UEFA would not be told "what to do" as he called out the Spanish side.
In an interview with BBC Sport, Ceferin confirmed that UEFA operate under strict financial fair play rules, and said that PSG had not done any wrong doing in re-signing Mbappe. And the UEFA chief fired a warning to Madrid as he claimed that they would not be bossed around by Los Blancos.
Ceferin said: "Whoever will respect our rules is welcome to play in our competitions; who will not respect the rules will not. Look not Real Madrid or anyone else will tell Uefa what to do.
"They are outraged from one point of view and, as much as I know, their offer was similar to [PSG's] offer." Mbappe's new deal has now been outlined by Marca, who highlight that the Frenchman is currently the highest earning footballer.
They claim that 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. The 23-year-old now also has 100 percent control of his image rights.
But Ceferin's comments have made it awkward for Madrid if it is true that their contract offer was very similar, as La Liga slammed PSG for putting the "economic ecosystem of European football" at risk. In a brutal statement from La Liga aimed at UEFA they wrote: "La Liga wishes to state that this type of agreement attacks the economic stability of European football, putting at risk hundreds of thousands of jobs and the integrity of the sport.
"It is scandalous that a club like PSG, which last season reported losses of more than 220 million euros after accumulating losses of more than 700 million euros in prior seasons (while reporting sponsorship income at doubtful valuation), with a squad cost around 650 million for this season, can close such an agreement."
And they even targeted PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, as they added: "This kind of behaviour led by Al-Khelaifi, president of PSG, and member of the UEFA Executive Committee and president of ECA, endangers European football on the same level as the European Super League."
But Ceferin backed Al-Khelaifi, as he responded saying: "I've said that many times and I will say it again, tell me one argument why they shouldn't be the owners of a club. If you say that clubs belong to the fans, don't you think that the other English clubs have owners - they have owners from the United States, some from the Middle East, they have owners from England.
"So it's exactly the same situation and I'm really tired of these accusations without any concrete grounds. I want to know who broke the rules and if you break the rules then you will be punished."
