Lisbon – Players’s union leaders want UEFA to ease a punishment for Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain after breaking financial fair play rules.
FIFPro Europe president Bobby Barnes said he hoped UEFA can find “some way of lessening the blow” to avoid excluding players from Champions League squads.
Barnes says “the last thing we want is for players to miss the Champions League”.
UEFA sanctions for overspending include cutting senior player quotas for Manchester City and PSG to 21 from 25 in next season’s competition.
That should require clubs to promote home-trained young talent instead of relying on expensively bought players.
Still, Barnes sees room to negotiate because UEFA has not yet specified how many homegrown players – between five and eight – must be included in the 21. – Sapa-AP