Manchester City have a battle on their hands to be allowed to compete in UEFA competitions from 2013.
City made a £121.3 million loss in 2009-10 and can expect to make a similar-sized loss for 2010-11 and, according to The Independent, UEFA has warned that their huge transfer expenditure “cannot be written off as a loss on next year’s accounts alone”.
When UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations are enforced, clubs will be forced to break even, although benefactors – such as the City owners – are allowed to contribute up to £39.54 million for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons and £26.36 million for the period covering 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18.
City will have to spread the losses of their recent heavy spending over the length of the corresponding players’ contracts, though, meaning they will have to cope with a £50 million loss at the start of each season, over and above any other spending on transfers and wages.
City’s chief football administrator, Brian Marwood, recently said the days of heavy spending at the club were over and that the focus would now be on developing young players.
UEFA’s head of club licensing, Andrea Traverso, told The Independent that any attempt to wipe out the spending before the rules come into play would “be seen as a way to circumvent the rules, and that is not allowed”.
