La Liga president Javier Tebas has confirmed that an official legal complaint has been lodged against Manchester City with the European Commission over alleged financial irregularities.
La Liga Chief Files Legal Complaint Against Manchester City
Speaking at the Financial Times’ Business of Football summit in London on Thursday, La Liga president Javier Tebas accused Manchester City of financial irregularities and confirmed that the Spanish league has lodged a legal complaint with the European Commission against the club.
Tebas, who claims that City caused a ‘serious distortion’ to the internal market of the European Union, revealed that the complaint was filed in 2023 and said that he believes that an investigation is currently underway.
La Liga alleges that City have received foreign subsidies from the United Arab Emirates, which has allowed the reigning English champions to enhance their competitive position and sign top players ‘under normal market conditions’.
Of course, City have long been under the microscope in terms of financial activity, and they are currently awaiting a verdict in relation to over 100 charges brought against them for allegedly breaching the Premier League‘s financial fair play (FFP) rules. They are also in a separate dispute with the league over associated party transactions (APT).
Tebas: “We Want Manchester City To Be Sanctioned”
“What worries me about Manchester City is that they have a group of companies outside of City Football Group,” Tebas told members of the media at Thursday’s financial summit.
“They saddle all their expenses to these companies. For example, they have scouting or marketing companies who accrue high expenses. They invoice Manchester City for low amounts. It allows Manchester City to have a structure that circumvents the rules.
“As a result, we have reported Manchester City to the European Commission. Even though they are an English team, and not part of the EU, they still have commercial activities in Europe. We first made the complaint in July 2023 and there are now regulations in place allowing the EU to look at companies like City Football Group.
“Our case against Manchester City relates to two things. The first is checking Manchester City are not using other companies to cheat the system. The second element is a bigger battle to stop football ending up in the hands of State-owned entities without proper policing.
“We also take issue with some of the prices the club has paid. And we question how the club can saddle losses on other related companies that are not directly part of City Football Group.”
“I can’t speak to any sanctions for Manchester City on this matter yet. All I can say is when a company in Europe, in general, is seen to have distorted the market, they often have to return funds. We want Manchester City to be sanctioned.
“The case is currently in the investigation phase. We haven’t had a reply yet. Remember, the European Comission has lots of cases.”
Tebas also pointed the finger at French giants Paris Saint-Germain, as well as at Newcastle United, but admitted that there isn’t ‘enough data’ to lodge a complaint against the Magpies yet.
“It’s not just Manchester City either. We have reported Paris Saint-Germain to the European Commission. As for Newcastle, we haven’t done anything about them yet. We don’t have enough data.”
According to reports, City have declined to comment on the situation, however sources close to the club ‘strongly refute’ the allegations and pointed to their accounts as proof of no wrongdoing – which are a matter of public record.
