UEFA fines Barcelona and Manchester United for FFP breaches

UEFA fines Barcelona and Manchester United for FFP breaches

UEFA has confirmed that both FC Barcelona and Manchester United have been fined for violating the Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. In a statement late on Friday, July 14, it was disclosed that United were handed a €300,000 ($336,420) fine for “minor break even deficits” for the financial years spanning between 2019 and 2022. UEFA fines Barcelona and Manchester United for FFP breachesManchester United and Barcelona playing a Europa match at Old Trafford. Source: Getty Barca, meanwhile, were issued a larger €500,000 ($560,700) fine “for wrongly reporting, in the financial year 2022, profits on disposal of intangible assets (other than player transfers) which are not a relevant income under the regulations.” The former European champions each earned tens of millions of euros (dollars) in UEFA prize money last season. Barcelona played in the Champions League group stage, but lost in the Europa League knockout playoffs to United, who were eliminated at the quarterfinal stage by eventual winner Sevilla. A group of storied clubs including AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Paris Saint-Germain who were fined by UEFA last September, all met their stricter financial targets for last season. They will continue to be monitored for compliance over the next year. The FFP rules which Manchester United and Barcelona breached, were introduced by UEFA in 2009 to prevent football clubs from spending more than they earn in pursuit of success and risking their long-term financial health.

UEFA fines Barcelona and Manchester United for FFP breaches

Union of European Football Associations Logo. Source: Google UEFA has updated the FFP rules that were approved in 2009 with a new monitoring system. It prioritises financial sustainability for clubs and moved away from setting competitive balance on the field as an achievable target. Recent reports from the Telegraph on Wednesday, July 12, shed light on Real Madrid facing scrutiny regarding irregular financial activities evident in their published financial results. In the latest financial report, an approximate sum of €135 million was allocated to a specific category called “other operating expenses,” with €122 million remaining unexplained. Real Madrid declined to provide details about a deal signed in the 2017-18 fiscal year with the private equity group named “Providence.” The deal involved the club receiving funds in exchange for the sale of future income streams, and it has since been extended and increased in value. However, the income generated from the undisclosed portion of future sponsorships, which was renewed in 2019-20, was recorded as revenue rather than debt in Real Madrid’s financial records.

Jose Mourinho quits role on UEFA board after ban

Jose Mourinho quits role on UEFA board after ban

AS Roma coach, Jose Mourinho on Thursday, June 22, communicated his decision to leave his position on the UEFA football board via a letter. This is coming after UEFA imposed some penalties on Roma, which include a four-match suspension for Mourinho due to his behaviour towards referee Anthony Taylor after the Europa League final.

Jose Mourinho quits role on UEFA board after ban

Jose Mourinho at an AS Roma match. Source: Getty Mourinho frequently aimed at referee Anthony Taylor and even confronted the Englishman in the stadium car park after Roma’s defeat to Sevilla. He was charged with using insulting or abusive language, a charge he was found guilty of. And as the war between the Roma boss and UEFA escalates, Jose Mourinho has opted to pull out from his membership on the body’s football board. In a letter addressed to UEFA’s chief of football Zvonimir Boban, Mourinho stated that he felt obligated to step down. The letter read;

Jose Mourinho quits role on UEFA board after ban

Jose Mourinho protesting against Anthony Taylor during the Europa League final. Source: Getty “In thanking you for the invitation you extended to me to be a member of the UEFA football board, I regret to inform you that, effective immediately, I will be renouncing my participation in this group. “The conditions which I so strongly believed in when I joined are no longer standing and I felt the obligation to take this decision. I kindly ask that you also communicate my decision to the President Mr. Aleksander Ceferin.” The UEFA football board is formed of coaches and players both past and present. Their aim is to tackle issues around the laws of the game, refereeing, and the football calendar, with meetings set to take place once a year. It was the brainchild of Boban and former referee Roberto Rosetti, but Mourinho appears to be continuing his feud with the governing body. The likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Paolo Maldini are also on the board, with UEFA hailing its creation back in April.

Spains defeat Croatia on penalties to win UEFA Nations League title

Spains defeat Croatia on penalties to win UEFA Nations League title

Spain has won their first title in 11 years after defeating Croatia 5-4 on penalties to win the UEFA Nations League title on Sunday, June 18. The final at the Feyenoord Stadium ended goalless after extra time, leaving the trophy to be settled on spot-kicks with Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon emerging as the hero.

Spains defeat Croatia on penalties to win UEFA Nations League title

Spain crowned UEFA Nations League winners. Source: Getty He saved Croatia’s fourth kick from Lovro Majer giving Spain’s Aymeric Laporte the chance to win the shootout but he hammered the ball against the bar. Simon then saved again from Bruno Petkovic to hand Spain a second chance to win, which Dani Carvajal took with a chipped finish. Spain’s last title was the 2012 European Championship and the Nations League will help make up for a disappointing World Cup in which they were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Morocco. Croatia, who were runners-up at the World Cup in 2018 and third in 2022, have never won a major trophy and were hoping Nations League success would cap a glittering international career for captain Luka Modric, who played his 166th international game. Spains defeat Croatia on penalties to win UEFA Nations League titleDejected Croatian players at the Nations League final. Source: Getty Spain winning the Nations League is a confidence boost for their new coach Luis de la Fuente after heavy criticism in March following a defeat to Scotland in a Euro 2024 qualifying game. It also avenged their 2021 final defeat by France. Real Madrid defender Carvajal told Spanish broadcaster TVE; “For us it was a unique opportunity, we went out early in another tournament (at the World Cup in Qatar) and today we had to take advantage. “We had confidence with the penalties and it went well, I knew how I was going to shoot it, and I knew I was going to be sixth… I wanted to take it Panenka style and it went well.” It remains to be seen whether this was Modric’s final chance to deliver a trophy for his country, with the 37-year-old former Ballon d’Or winner set to make an announcement on his international future this week.

Ancelotti slams UEFA and FIFA over tight football calendar

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Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has accused football authorities, UEFA and FIFA, of not caring about players’ health with the tight football calendar they put out. Ancelotti slams UEFA and FIFA over tight football calender With his team fighting in both the Champions League and La Liga and averaging a game every three days, Ancelotti accused UEFA and FIFA of only thinking about themselves. He also stated that something has to change. Speaking at a press conference, the Real Madrid manager said; Ancelotti slams UEFA and FIFA over tight football calender “Objectively, the calendar doesn’t make sense. It’s too tight, with too many games. We have to look at the health of the players. They’re the most important part of football, but everyone thinks about themselves: the league think about themselves, the federation think about themselves, FIFA think about themselves, UEFA think about themselves. It isn’t good for football. It isn’t right. Something has to change. Too many games.”

2021/2022 UEFA Champions League prize money revealed

2021/2022 UEFA Champions League prize money revealed

The 2021/2022 UEFA Champions League campaign remains one with the most uncertain and interesting moments, and it’s so sad the curtain will be drawn over it on Saturday when English giants, Liverpool and Spanish giants, Real Madrid go head to head in Paris.
The encounter will be the third time the two sides will meet in a European cup final, with the last time not sitting comfortable with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

Meanwhile, as a thrilling expectation from the final is to the fans, it is beyond doubt that the competition’s prize money is to the clubs.
As revealed by UEFA, the finalists of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League will each pocket a huge sum of $17.5million for reaching the final.
More so, the team that emerges victorious at Stade de France on Saturday will receive an extra $5.1million (making it a total of $22.69million) for qualifying for the UEFA Super Cup which is a one-off final that pits the UEFA Champions League winners against the UEFA Europa League winners.

Breakdown of the UEFA Champions League 2021/22 Prize Money
✓Winner $22.6million
✓Runner-up $17.5million
✓Semi-finalists $14.1million
✓Quarter-finalists $12.0million
✓Round of 16 $10.8million
✓Group-stage wins $3.1million
✓Group-stage draws $1.0million
✓Group stage $17.7million
The English giants, Liverpool have so far racked up $90.7million winning all their group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League which can increase to $95.8million if they emerge as the UEFA Champions League winner on Saturday.
The Spanish giants, Real Madrid have earned $87.6million after losing one of their group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League. Their final prize money can however increase by $5.1million to $87.6million if they end up as the UCL victors on Saturday.

These figures do not include matchday or broadcast income which means their total earnings from the European competition might exceed $100 million