PSG face threat of losing Mbappé and Neymar, as CAS investigation results expected this month
PSG and Manchester City are awaiting the results of a CAS investigation into financial doping and have been warned of harsh penalties if found to be guilty.
The Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is set to announce its decision on whether PSG was guilty of ‘financial doping’ before end of the month.
UEFA opened an investigation into the French club and Manchester City last year for alleged financial tampering, and the recently re-elected UEFA president, Aleksander Ceferin, has warned that the two clubs face harsh penalties if found to be guilty by the CAS. The football governing body is also understood to be angry at both clubs for not fully cooperating with their investigations.
In a controversial move, UEFA appointed PSG President Nasser Al Khelaifi to its executive committee on Thursday, the same day that Čeferin was re-elected. LaLiga president Javier Tebas has protested at Al Khelaifi’s appointment, raising concerns that the PSG president could influence the proceedings related to his own club from within UEFA itself.
UEFA has commissioned an independent investigation by the former prime minister of Belgium, Yves Leterme, who also participated in the first investigation that found both clubs to be in breach of Financial Fair Play rules. FIFA president Gianni Infantino acted as mediator in the subsequent proceedings between UEFA and the two clubs, who received sanctions in the form of fines for their transgressions.
Leterme, however, was not satisfied and UEFA decided to reopen the case. And in open confrontation with Infantino, Caferin has given Leterme full autonomy.
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, PSG and City could face punishments as severe as a ban from next season’s Champions League and the obligation to sell star players, such as De Neymar and Mbappé (PSG), and De Bruyne and Sterling (City), to balance the books, a move which would have monumental repercussions for the transfer market.
Chelsea investigation
Chelsea, meanwhile, are waiting to hear the outcome of a long-running Fifa investigation into the club over potential rule breaches regarding more than 100 foreign players under the age of 18.
If found guilty, Chelsea will likely face a transfer market ban. And the Premier League club has recently denied that their January signings of Christian Pulisic for 75 million euros and Gonzalo Higuaín on loan were made in anticipation of a possible transfer ban.