London – Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany believes Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules are designed to subdue teams with recent investment, such as his club, and prevent them from competing with the long-established giants of European football.
Since Sheikh Mansour bought the club in 2008, City have invested heavily in an attempt to break into the European hierarchy – winning the Premier League in 2012 and last year – but have since been punished for failing to comply with the regulations.
Uefa said their FFP regulations were designed to limit reckless spending and ensure clubs operated within their means.
Last May, City were handed a fine of e60 million (about R760m) and had restrictions placed on their European squad and transfer dealings and Kompany said the rules only serve to maintain the status quo.
“That’s how I look at it anyway,” he told the Sunday Telegraph.
“If you go into the business world you can’t say to anyone they cannot invest. I understand the fans have to be protected, the clubs have to be protected but plans need to be accepted.
“You win things; you get more fans. You get more fans; you create more revenue. That’s not a stupid way of thinking of investing in a business.
“I do understand there needs to be regulation but I just wonder what is going to change at the top? When I came to England it was just four clubs at the top. Four. The same top four all the time and that’s changed now.”
UEFA denied claims the regulations were a method of limiting “new” investment and said the measures were designed to protect clubs long-term.
“What you do is actually protect the few who already have the things geared up to create enough revenue for them to invest more than anyone else,” Kompany added.
“I think there needs to be a format that people respect. When you get into a club you need to subscribe to be in there for a number of years, you need to maybe commit to a certain number of regulations but in this case who are you protecting?”
In December, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said the FFP rules were a contradiction and designed to protect large clubs with a long history of success. – Reuters