Wengers comments on Man City finances

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kiwomya
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Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2011 12:56 pm
Location: London

Wengers comments on Man City finances

Post by kiwomya »

Wengers comments on the City financial status (From the Guardian)

Not sure many will appreciate the comments but thought they were a good discussion point. The way these clubs are financed can't continue.
Arsène Wenger has expressed his dismay at the record losses incurred by Manchester City and he fears that they provide another indication that clubs will ride roughshod over Uefa's incoming financial fair play rules.

The Arsenal manager, a long-time advocate of prudent accounting and critic of City's approach, had been hopeful that the legislation would serve to curb excess and level the playing field. Uefa's regulations will apply from the 2014-15 season but the governing body will analyse club accounts for the three years before that, beginning with the current financial year. The rules, which aim for balanced books, permit clubs to lose £38.5m in total over the three years.

City's losses for the most recent financial year, announced last Friday, stood at £197m, which eclipsed Chelsea's previous record in English football of £141m from 2005. City's wage bill was £174m, which was £21m more than their turnover, and the figures are a major factor in why Wenger has come to feel sceptical about the regulations having teeth.

"Frankly, it [the legislation] should have been in 2013," he said. "When I see the numbers announced by Man City, do you really think it will work? I cannot see it when the wage bill is bigger than the turnover. Frankly, that cannot happen in one year."

Wenger's concerns have also been fuelled by the way that other clubs have challenged Uefa's authority. The Swiss club Sion have complained to the European Commission over their expulsion from the Europa League for fielding ineligible players while Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the European Club Association chairman, has said: "Fifa and Uefa need the clubs for a World Cup or European Championship but the clubs don't need them."

"With what happened with Sion challenging Uefa … they have lost a lot of power," Wenger said. "There is as well the statement of Rummenigge, representing the hundred clubs, against Uefa. We live in a world where any decision made is challenged. Europe has created that and we see how far Europe has gone. The authority of the legal affairs is challengeable everywhere.

"Uefa want to create a situation where clubs with deficits cannot play in the Champions League but I question whether they will be able to force it through. Will they have the legal power to force that through today? I question that because you have as well [big-spending clubs like] Paris St-Germain and Málaga in other countries. Once they represent a force together, it will be difficult to fight against."

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