UEFA are working to replace the Financial Fair Play rule in the recent future. It was established a decade ago, and has failed to achieve the initial goal that it came into existence for. The policy was drafted by Michel Platini in 2010, and has failed to limit the spending by clubs on transfer fees.
Clubs like Manchester City and PSG, backed by Middle Eastern states, have spent over a billion on transfers in the last decade alone. On the other hand, the state of affairs at clubs like Barcelona where they’ve had to sell most of their star players to achieve financial stability only further proves that the FFP model is not working.
While the top spenders have managed to evade any substantial punishment, clubs like AC Milan, Monaco and Sporting CP have been affected by it. The Rossoneri were banned from European football completely for one season, due to the rules.
The main logic behind the rule is that clubs should be able to support their expenditure by their income. In other words, clubs need to show that any losses that they suffer through transfers should be covered by their income in the short term. As a result, Manchester City and PSG have been able to prove exactly that through their endless funding.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has also acknowledged that the Financial Fair Play model needs to be changed, and a new model is in the works. Whatever comes next must be a realistic attempt at reducing the power of money in the sport. In doing so, the gap between the European elite and the financially responsible clubs should be decreased substantially.
